


Remember Who You Are

by ShutterMonkey



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, Femslash
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-09-10
Updated: 2015-12-19
Packaged: 2017-11-13 23:04:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 47,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/508685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShutterMonkey/pseuds/ShutterMonkey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a season one story, post 1x05. The Evil Queen's curse on the town is unraveling. How will she deal with everyone's fairytale counterpart seeping through into their consciousness?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer:**_   _ **Blah. Blah. Not mine or yours, I think they're ABC's.**_

_**Warnings:**_   _ **This fanfic depicts romantic notions between two adult women. If you don't like that, well, I'm sorry for you.**_

_**Note:**_   _ **This is post episode 5. I've decided to disregard any later episodes because Regina and Emma are going in a direction that I don't like. Hence, a fanfic! It my first one, that's why I took so long to post it…C &C please! But be gentle….**_

_****Dec-14-2011: I replaced the chapter with the newly "beta'ed" version. Thank you Haku2009 for the proof reading!** _

* * *

"Why don't you have any alcohol at home? Not even a beer?" Emma slammed the refrigerator door shut, and turned to the school teacher who was sitting at the kitchen island sipping on her tea.

Mary Margaret shrugged. "I just never acquired a taste for it. And I prefer tea when I'm upset." She held her teapot up towards the blonde. "Want some?"

"I'm not upset." Emma turned back to the fridge, this time searching in the freezer. She pulled a tub of ice-cream out of the freezer box. Grabbing a spoon from the drawer she plopped down in the seat across from the school teacher. "At least you have the sense to buy the triple chocolate fudge flavor," she grumbled.

Emma shoved a spoonful of the chocolaty treat into her mouth cleaning it off before shaking the utensil at Mary Margaret. "Seriously, I risked my life to save her kid. Or I guess you could say, our kid, not that I'm complaining cause I have no problem sticking my neck out for him. Not at all. But do I get a thank you? Noooo!" Emma put another spoonful into her mouth. "You know, for I moment there I thought we reached a truce. She was near tears with worry. She wanted the kid safe as much as I do. But as soon as I get the kid out of that shaft she turned right back to the bitch of the century! She thanked Hopper. She thanked Marco. She thanked the sheriff. She thanked the whole freakin' town except me. She's provoking me on purpose! Is it so difficult to be just a little bit nice?" She shoved three more spoonfuls of ice cream into her mouth barely giving herself time to breath. She quirked an eyebrow when she failed to get a response from her roommate. "So to get her attention I stripped myself naked and started dancing the Macarena."

"Mm... I've never danced naked before..." Mary Margaret absently replied as she sipped her tea. Then the blonde's words finally registered and she looked up wide-eyed. "Excuse me… What did you-?"

Emma sighed. "You're not even listening. Forget it." She put the ice cream back into the freezer, tossing the spoon into the sink. "I'm going out for a drive." Grabbing her leather jacket, Emma walked out the apartment slamming the door for good measure.

"Emma," Mary Margaret called out but the blonde already closed the door behind her. "I'm sorry. I just have a lot on my mind too tonight," she spoke out into the empty space. Her mind kept replaying the visit she had with David earlier this afternoon. Resignedly, she poured herself another cup of tea.

* * *

Emma must have sat in her car for almost an hour she reckoned. She drove off from Mary Margaret's apartment and naturally ended up outside the house of the woman whose been her source of frustration lately. She rested her chin on her arms which were wrapped around the top of the steering wheel looking up at the house. The lights in a room downstairs had remained lit since her arrival and she'd seen the silhouette of the mayor passing by the window a couple of times. If Emma remembered right from the brief time she was at the house that room was the study.

She was still pretty angry about the whole ordeal earlier today. And to be honest she was really hurt about being excluded. She's been making an effort to be part of the town, part of Henry's life yet Regina still treated her like insignificant dirt. By all accounts Emma should hate the woman to her core. But despite the threats, the lies, the insults, it was those rare moments when Regina's wall cracked a little and revealed a glimpse of vulnerability, reeling Emma in more than the antagonizing behaviors push her away.

* * *

Regina downed the glass of wine, sitting alone in her study. She had put Henry to bed a few hours prior. His adventurous day tired him out so much that he didn't protest bedtime like he usually did. He really scared her today. It had been a very, very long time since she experienced fear. She didn't want to analyze the feeling she had way too much on her plate right now. She was just glad that Henry was safe and returned to her.

Several photo albums were scattered on the low table in front of her, along with the files Sidney dug up on Emma Swan. This woman had achieved nothing in her life. She was a nobody and yet now posed as one of her greatest threat. Not just because she was taking Henry away from her, but also something about the woman that constantly threw her off balance. Like today at the abandoned mine site, she actually turned to Emma for help.

Regina never asks for help. She would demand, order, or as far as threaten to have her needs met. But she never simply asked for help. She remembered holding Emma's gaze after the deputy asked her what she wanted her to do and found nothing but honest sincerity and perhaps a connection? So she surrendered to it, handing over her tightly reined control for a moment.

And Regina hated it. Absolutely detesting the feeling of not being in control.

She poured herself more wine picking up a photo of Henry as a toddler smiling brightly into the camera. She stared at it with sadness. Henry was supposed to be her happy ending...

Her mind flashed briefly back to the shard of glass she came across at the mine site. Pieces of the world she left behind are starting to unearth. She couldn't figure what exactly that meant, but it was not a good sign. Not only were the town changing but the people in it too. And more importantly she can feel a change inside herself, her powers returning, slowly. It was still very sporadic and she couldn't fully control it like she used to. Her powers, not surprisingly, had no effect on Henry or Emma.

Everything was falling apart and nothing seemed to be in her control anymore.

* * *

Giving in to the undeniable pull, Emma got out of her car and walked up to the house.

' _Worst Regina could do would be to have me arrested once again for trespassing private property. Can I even be arrested if I'm the deputy sheriff now?'_  She shrugged her shoulders giving the door a light tap.

It took a few moments before the door was pulled open revealing Regina standing in the doorway.

Emma was not prepared for the vision of the dark haired woman, completely surprised to find her with no trace of makeup, hair a little mussed up, draped simply in an elegant black silk robe and barefooted. The mayor looked the total opposite of her usual imposing self.

_'Uh… wow, she seems smaller… demure... chaste even. It's kinda nice.'_ Emma mused. Her impression was, however, quickly corrected when Regina spoke demanding the purpose of this late night visit.

"You better have a good reason for being here at this time of the night, Miss Swan." While her current image lacked a commanding quality, Regina's tone clearly did not.

Emma composed herself, stood a little straighter. "We need to talk," she requested. "About Henry."

"I have nothing to say to you." Regina crossed her arms over her chest, giving the new deputy an irritated look.

Emma mirrored the dark haired woman's posture. "I insist."

Regina met Emma's eyes steadily and not surprised to find the blonde returning the stare without a flinch, even arching an eyebrow back at her in a gesture of challenge. After a few moments of silent standoff, Regina realized that the blonde really had no better things to do but to remain on her doorstep and continue to irritate her. She could stand there all night.

Regrettably, Regina sighed. "Fine. Come in." She pushed herself away from the door and turned, heading back into the house as her visitor walked up the short steps to the door. "Close the door behind you quietly. Don't wake Henry," she threw back at the blonde and disappeared into the study.

Emma pushed the door shut gently, hearing the soft click of the lock engaging. She followed the mayor further into the next room. Regina was moving an arm load of paperwork and books to the far end of the room. She glanced around the always immaculate room and her eyes lit up as she spotted the bottle of wine on the low table.

Regina turned to her guest after putting the photos and Emma's file out of sight, noticing the blonde eyeing the wine. It had been a long day. Feeling generous and not really knowing why, she offered, "Want a glass?"

Emma gave the mayor a grateful look. "Hell yes, please."

As Regina walked out of the room to fetch her a glass, Emma went over to the couch and took a seat. Something caught her eye underneath the table, she reached out and picked it up. Turning it over in her hand, she found herself looking at a photograph of Henry and Regina. It was an older photo, as Henry looked to be only about 5 years old. Emma felt a pang in her chest as she took in the pure happiness of both mother and son captured in the photograph. She quickly stuffed it into her pocket, just before Regina walked back into the room with an empty glass.

Emma watched the dark haired woman as she poured her a glass of wine. Steady hands pouring the red liquid in a precise manner. Poised, controlled, cold and remote yet, Emma had already witnessed the display of anxiety, panic, and if she hadn't seen the photo she wouldn't have believed it, happiness the mayor was capable of.

Emma didn't know what to believe anymore. She was beginning to think that coming here was a bad idea. Giving Regina a nod of thanks, she took the offered glass of wine and downed it.

Regina quirked an eyebrow at the blonde as she threw back the wine. She had a pretty good guess as to what Emma wanted to talk about. Archie had already hinted that Emma wanted to fight her for Henry. The logical part of her knew that the psychologist's threat had little validity. But with every aspect of her life falling apart lately, she couldn't help but be wary of any possibility.

The wine calmed Emma's nerves and allowed her to sort through the jumble of thoughts in her head, all revolving around the woman sitting a few feet from her.

"So," she paused briefly, "these beliefs Henry has is getting pretty out of hand," Emma broke the silence, looking up at the mayor.

Regina gave her a leveled look. "Tell me something I don't already know."

Emma took a breath and counted to ten in her head. ' _Why must she be so abrasive?'_

"Look, somehow the kid has taken an attachment to me. Given me a chance, maybe I can figure out an angle I can approach him, give him a reality check. I just need you to stop fighting me at every turn," Emma found herself pleading despite herself.

"Right. That's really your game here, isn't it? You think I'd stand by and let you influence my son whichever way you want? You think I'm a moron?" Regina tried to keep her voice leveled.

"Look, I didn't really choose to get involved in your lives," Emma responded.

"But you certainly can choose to leave. And you clearly have no plans of doing that." Regina countered.

"I can leave. And I would except you know as well as I do that Henry would just come after me again," Emma reasoned.

Regina had to admit that was true. Short of locking the boy up, she knows Henry wasn't going to just give up looking for Emma. Oh, how she hated that fact. "Well you haven't exactly made much of an effort to heed my instructions to leave. Destroying my apple tree. Taking up a job in town. What am I supposed to think?"

"I'm sorry. I just don't react well to threats." Emma shrugged.

Regina arched her eyebrow. "Neither do I. And you've been quite stellar in posing as one for me."

The two women regarded each other. Emma was the first to break into a wry grin, finding their common, headstrong trait amusing. With that bit of unspoken mutual understanding reached, Regina allowed her guard just enough to let her lips pulled into a slight smile.

_'Damn she really is quite beautiful when she's not being a bitch,'_  the thought popped Emma head involuntarily before she could stop it.  _'Shit! Where the hell did that come from?'_ She shook her head free of the thought, reaching forward for more wine. Only to find the bottle empty.  _'I need another drink.'_  She bolted out of the room.

Regina watched Emma disappear into the next room. She threw her hands up in the air. ' _Who does she think she is? Acting like this is her house or something.'_

She got up and followed the blonde to find her guest rooting around in her kitchen drawers, a bottle in one hand, most likely looking for the corkscrew since she already found the wine. Regina walked up to the woman and bumped her aside.

"Have you got no manners? Didn't your mother teach you any? Oh right, you don't have mother," she mocked, reaching into a drawer to pull out a corkscrew.

"Why do you have to be such a bitch to me?" Emma glared at Regina.

"Because I have no reason to be nice to you," she replied simply.

"Isn't Henry good enough of a reason? If you really love him, maybe you should be nice to the people he likes." As soon as she said the words, Emma watched in fascination as a stone cold expression took over Regina's face.

"I will not stand here and tolerate you questioning my love for my son. I have let it slide once and I won't again." Taking a step towards the blonde, Regina invaded her space and delivered a warning. "Don't. Push. Me."

Emma stood her ground, refusing to back away. "Seriously, you have to quit getting in my face," she grounded out.

"Or what?" Regina challenged.

Emma stared into the mayor's dark eye. She could feel her breath on her face. ' _Oh this is just way too tempting.'_  Before she could consider the inappropriateness of it, she snaked a hand up behind Regina's head and pulled her forward, closing remaining distance, and kissed the mayor.

All thoughts left Regina's mind as she stood there in shock. There were only sensations. The soft lips under her own, the pressure of the hand behind her head, the heat of Emma's body against hers, the smell of that leather jacket. Regina's senses went on an overload, snapping out of her stupor and shoved Emma away from her.

Regina closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, trying to find her equilibrium back. "Get out," she managed with an even tone.

' _Oh shit.'_  Emma took an awkward, uncertain step towards the dark woman. "I'm sorry... I..."

"GET OUT!"

By pure instinct, Emma ducked as an object came flying at her head. A glance up and her eyes widened at the mayor winding back an arm, ready to throw something else at her. Probably something bigger and more deadly. Figuring it would be best if she didn't stay and find out, Emma turned on her heels and run out the kitchen. She got her hand on the front door when she heard her name being called by a small voice. Turning around, she found Henry standing halfway up the staircase, disoriented from being woken up from his sleep.

Emma shot the boy a regretful look. "Sorry kid." And slipped out the door.

In the kitchen, Regina had taken a seat at the island. Her heart pounded inside her rib cage and her legs almost gave out under her after Emma left. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she tried to control her breathing, willing the onset of a headache away. A shuffle at the doorway made her open her eyes, and found Henry standing there with a frown on his face. He looked around and his eyes landed on the corkscrew that was half buried in the wall. He turned an accusing gaze at his mother.

"What did you do to Emma?" he demanded.

' _Of course, I would be first to be blamed in his eyes.'_  Regina sadly acknowledged. "Go back to bed, Henry."

"What did you do?" He asked again.

"Don't make me tell you twice," Regina's tone left no room for argument. Henry had lived with her long enough to know.

Sullenly, he stomped his way back to his room. Regina listened as his heavy footsteps ended and then his door slamming. Bombarded by a slew of different emotions in the past 24 hours, she was too tired at this point to process the hurt his attitude brought.

She can't let this beat her. She had invested too much, had too much to lose. Question is, how far will she go this time?


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer:**_   _ **Blah. Blah. Not mine or yours, I think they're ABC's.**_

 _ **Warnings:**_   _ **This fanfic depicts romantic notions between two adult women. If you don't like that, well, I'm sorry for you.**_

_**Note: I'm sorry for the late update… I realized I'm a very slow writer… -_- by the way, after episode 7, do people even still wanna read about Emma/Regina? And of course, thank you Haku2009 for proof reading!** _

* * *

Regina looked over the newspaper and met Henry's eyes. He had maintained his glare on her throughout the entire breakfast. She won't deny that it doesn't hurt when he acts like this towards her, but years of practice have kept her composure cool and collected. As Henry becomes increasingly more defiant towards her, the more she feels she needs to maintain a strong composure.

Regina folded the newspaper setting it aside. "Finish up. I'm driving you to school." She stood up from the table leaving the kitchen to gather her briefcase.

The drive to the school was quiet. Regina stayed focused on the road ignoring the sulking boy seated next to her.

"Why do you have to drive me to school?" Henry groused.

"Because I can't trust you to do things I tell you to. Look at the mess you got into yesterday?" She took her eyes off the road briefly as to give her son a stern look. "You know the rules. You choose to break them, so this is the consequence."

Henry sank deeper into the seat, unhappy with the turn of events. This new restriction on his liberties was going to greatly compromise his Operation Cobra progress.

* * *

Emma assumed she was on a bed from the softness that ran along her bare back. Wherever she was, it was unimportant at the moment as her sole focus was the woman braced above her. She couldn't tell who this woman was as she seemed to be able to only make out one feature at a time. Dark, short hair framed a face with all the right proportions. A wave of the dark lock curled over one perfectly arched eyebrow. Emma reached up to brush aside the hair and felt herself drowning in passion filled eyes. She dropped her hand a lower, and traced the red, full lips with her fingers. The lips curled up in slight playful smirk. A grip on her wrist pulled her hand away and secured it onto the bed surface above her head. Emma quirked an eyebrow at the dominating gesture.

 _'Oh no you don't.'_  Emma planted her feet on her bed, bucked upwards and rolled over the dark woman, only to find herself continued roll, and fall, ' _Whoa...'_

The harsh impact on her forehead pulled her out from the dream. She blinked once, then twice to get the stars out of her eyes. When her eyes finally were able to focus on the wooden grain on the hardwood floor, she gingerly pushed herself up to a seating position, leaned her back against the bed.

 _'Ow.'_  She rubbed her tender forehead.

As much she likes this new sense of settlement in the town Emma sure missed her queen sized bed back in her Boston apartment. Mary Margaret's room offer was generous, but the twin bed is really cramping her style.

Emma turned her head and squinted at the window. By the color of the sunlight filtering through, she figured it must be late in the morning. She grabbed her cell phone off the night stand, checking the time to find it past noon.

"Shit!" She got up to her feet, only to stumble back onto the bed as the room spun around her. Staring up at the ceiling, she waited for the spinning to stop.  _'Great, and I'm hung over.'_

It wasn't until she was outside the Mayor's house last night that she realized she still had that unopened bottle of wine in her hand. So she came back to the apartment, finished the bottle of wine by herself, and eventually fell into a stupor.

Memories of the previous night started to trickle into her still slightly inebriated mind. She recalled why she had to run out of the mayor's house, and cringed.  _'Out of all the possible things I could've done to get her out of my face I had to pick the dumbest one and kissed her.'_  Just thinking about it now makes her lips tingle. And along with that direction of thoughts, broken images of her dream flashed in her mind.  _'Oh fuck. Did I just have a sexy dream about Regina…?'_

* * *

It was another hour before Emma arrived at the Sheriff's office. Walking by Graham's office, she gave him a tired wave on the way to her own desk. She sat down and put her head on the desk.

"Glad you made it in finally." Graham said cheerfully with his Irish accent as he came out of his office. He went over to the small kitchenette and poured a cup of coffee.

With her head still on the table, "Don't be so cheerful. It's hurting my head."

The sheriff deposited the cup of coffee on the blonde's desk. "You look like crap."

Emma lifted her head at the smell of coffee. She took the offered cup and scowled at the man. "Thank you, for pointing that out so observantly." She remarked sarcastically before taking a sip of the coffee. Almost instantly she felt better as the caffeine loaded liquid slid down her throat. Looking back up at her boss sheepishly, "I was joking. I'm really sorry I slept in."

Graham shrugged. "I came by earlier and bumped into Mary Margaret on her way out. She said you came in late last night. I figured with what happened yesterday you could use a break. The town is pretty quiet this morning. I think everyone is overly worked up yesterday. We don't usually get this much excitement."

"Well, thanks anyway. I really appreciate it." She reached over and patted Graham's hand. She raised her eyebrows when she caught a faint blush rising up in the man's face.  _'Oh boy. I so do not need this right now.'_  "Okay, give me a few minutes to get my shit together and I'm gonna go do my round of patrol." Emma turned and grabbed a file randomly pretending to study it.

* * *

Emma parked her patrol car across the street from the school, got out and leaned casually against it. A few minutes later, the final bell rung and a herd of children rushed out of the building. Scanning each little face, her eyes finally fell on one that she was looking for.

A smile stretched across her face involuntary at the sight of the boy. And Henry readily returned the grin when he spotted her. Emma pushed away from the patrol car and started to walk across the street towards him but stopped when a dark figure fell into step with him.

Emma caught Regina's eyes as she shot her a warning glare before guiding Henry towards her black Mercedes. Uncharacteristically, Emma simply just stood where she was awkwardly, unsure of what she should do.

Watching Regina walk further away from her she fought the urge to follow. What was she supposed to say? Maybe start with an apology, but how do you apologize for kissing the woman you supposedly hated her guts without admitting things she's not quite ready to at the moment?

* * *

Regina took Henry back to her office with her. After some grumbling and mumbling, he finally settled in a corner of the office and started on his homework. Regina then went back to her desk to continue the work she started earlier.

Yesterday was a wakeup call for her.

She had become complacent, too careless. She looked down at the notes she had scribbled, so far outlining issues that needed immediate addressing; from Graham hiring Emma as deputy behind her back to Archie threatening her to Emma settling in town for good. Graham and Archie on top of her list to be dealt with for insubordination.

With Emma, Regina was sure the woman played a much larger role than just being Henry's birth mother set on driving a wedge between her and her son. She needed more time to strategize her approach. So far she had underestimated the blonde. Emma had already proven she had an uncanny ability to get under Regina's skin. She didn't know what prompted the new deputy to kiss her last night but if she meant to frazzle her it worked.

She idly made circles around Emma's name. She really didn't want to think about the woman but if she were to figure this mess out she had to. She just had to remind herself to be cautious when dealing with her.

* * *

The next day, after dropping Henry off at school, Regina steered her car onto the town's Main Street, stopping in front of a two-story brownstone. She got out of the car, her movement smooth, graceful, and controlled. She stepped onto the curb, crossed the sidewalk and walked into the building, not sparing a single glance at her surroundings.

Dr. Hopper was in the middle of a session with a patient when Regina barged in. He protested her interruption, but a steady, stern look from her to his patient was enough to send the nervous townsman up from his seat, stammered a request to reschedule his appointment, and bolted out the office. With a satisfied smile on her face, she closed the door and took the recently vacant seat across from the doctor, who had a warily look on his face.

She crossed her legs, neatly folded her hands and placed them on her knee. "So, you must be feeling pretty proud of yourself. You know, standing up for yourself finally."

Archie swallowed nervously, trying to maintain composure in the presence of the intimidating Mayor. His display of confidence began faltering without the adrenaline from his near death experience a few days ago. "I did what I had to do."

"While I'm somewhat impress that you stood up to me at all, I must be clear that I have zero tolerance for any threats made to me." Regina's tone took a cold turn as she continued. "You need to know that I hold no regard to your pathetic threat about being a character reference in court."

"I'm not afraid to face you in court." Archie held his ground.

Regina simply smiled. "I'm going be kind and give you a chance to not make a fool of yourself. You want to provide a reference of my character? And give accounts on how I am detrimental to my son's well being? Those are very serious claims you are making. I hope you have all the negative effects I have on Henry properly documented in his progress notes." She paused. "Oh wait, you don't."

Archie broke eye contact and Regina reveled in the fact that he knows he had lost. "I have access to Henry's progress files during the entire time he was treated by you. You have nothing on me. If you insist on taking this talk to court, I'll take you there, Archie. And I will sue you for reinforcing the delusions my son has and resulted in putting his life at risk. What do you think will become of your license to practice then?"

Regina watched with pleasure a small bead of sweat rolling down the psychologist's temple. "I will give you an opportunity to make a conscientious choice here. Allow your personal vendetta against me to end your career or do as I say and keep your practice. Just think of all the grateful town folks if you can remain available to help them out with their pitiful life problems."

Archie glared at the mayor. He didn't think he had the capability to hate someone as much as he hated Regina now. And he hated it more that she was right. He had nothing on her. He should have known breaking away from her control would require more than a quick idea that popped into his head as he was hanging on for his dear life in the mine shaft. Now the manipulative woman had effective put him in a position where he cannot put his own interest before all other people that needed his help.

Judging by the silence and brooding look she was receiving, Regina figured she had won this battle. With a pleasant smile on her face, she stood up, straightened her dress, and delivered a piece of advice to Archie before she left. "Listen dear, next time you make a threat, you better have the guns big enough to back it. Otherwise it will just backfire on you."

* * *

Regina waltz into the Sheriff station, spotting Graham in his office, relieved to find the station free of the blonde deputy. Graham immediately got up from his chair when he noticed the Mayor, offering her a seat across his desk.

"Don't bother." Regina waved him off. "This won't take long." She smiled in satisfaction as Graham nervously sat back down.

"What can I do for you, Madam Mayor?"

"You've already done enough, don't you think? I don't know what you hope to accomplish by hiring Emma as deputy, knowing full well it's not something I approve of. Was it really worth it to get on my bad side?" she asked him.

"Look, I just thought it would be good for Henry if Emma sticks around," he stammered.

"Good for Henry?" Regina shot him a hard look. "Or good for you?" His actions were just a silly attempt to win over his schoolboy crush and they were really annoying her. At least he had the decently to look away shamefully. "Well, enjoy your little victory while you can. Cause the town's new budget is up for review next month, and truth be told, I think a complete organizational overhaul will be good for the sheriff department."

"You can't," Graham protested.

"I can," Regina cut him off. "And I will." She paused long enough for him to be convinced she would carry out her threat. "However, you can still redeem some of your usefulness by keeping tabs on Swan for me. I want to know her every move. Cases she works on. People she talks to. She does anything, and I mean ANYTHING, in or out of the ordinary, I want to know about it."

"You're really crossing the line! I'm not betraying Emma's trust like that." He slammed his hands on the desk.

Regina slammed her hands down even harder. "And yet you have no qualms betraying me? You should know better than anyone else what I'm capable of. So if you are smart, Graham, you will do as I say or I cannot guarantee the well being of your new deputy."

Graham stared at her incredulously. "You not saying…"

"You know exactly what I am saying," She affirmed coldly.

"Don't hurt her," he practically begged.

Regina fought the urge to roll her eyes. ' _God, he is easy to manipulate.'_  "Then you know what you need to do."

Regina walked out of the sheriff station. Taking a deep breath of fresh air, she looked up at the sky, noting gray clouds moving in for an impending storm.

 _'What a glorious day_ ,' Regina thought. For the first time in weeks she was finally feeling like her old self.

 _Power_  is such an exhilarating phenomenon.

Seeing things getting back on track the way she wants them to put her in an exceptionally pleasant mood. Maybe she'll even take Henry out for a sundae after he gets off school. Feeling renewed Regina couldn't keep the grin off her face.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer: Blah. Blah. Not mine or yours, I think they're ABC's.** _

_**Warnings: This fanfic depicts romantic notions between two adult women. If you don't like that, well, I'm sorry for you.** _

_**Note: Thank you for letting me know you guys are still interested in reading about Emma/Regina~ That got me going again! And as always, thank you Haku2009 for proof reading!** _

* * *

Regina sat in her car a few houses down from her own. She had given Henry explicit instructions to stay at home before she left, but as she had expected, she catches Henry slipping out of the house not even 5 minutes of her driving off. She watched as he headed towards the south side of the town, towards where Mary Margaret's apartment is.

Where Emma has taken up residence.

She let out a bitter sigh. She couldn't remember the last time Henry made such an effort to spend time with her.

* * *

Emma strained the lettuce in the sink, then moved them over to the cutting board. She and Mary Margaret were at home on a Saturday in the kitchen preparing lunch. Emma cut up the lettuce for the salad while Mary Margaret finished topping off the pasta with sauce.

"Have you seen Henry lately?" Mary Margaret asked.

"No, ever since the mayor decided to become his shadow, I haven't had a chance get close." Emma answered with annoyance. "Why? Is something wrong?"

"No, not really. It's just he's been really quiet in class lately," she replied.

"Oh... " Emma felt, on some level, responsible for how the kid was behaving. "I haven't been able to get closer than 5 feet of him."

"Hm… " Mary Margaret responded thoughtfully.

They moved the dishes to the table. Neither of them spoke another word as they began eating their lunch. Mary Margaret kept giving the blonde curious glances.

Emma speared a cherry tomato and popped it into her mouth, narrowing her eyes at her roommate. "What?"

"Oh nothing." Mary Margaret shrugged, but Emma continued to look at her expectedly. "I just find it a bit strange. You are the last person I expect to be scared of the Mayor."

"I'm not scared of her," Emma answered a bit too quickly.

"So why are you letting her keep you away from Henry?" The school teacher countered.

Emma shrugged. Over the week she had been trying to figure out why she felt so reluctant to approach Regina.

"Did she threaten you?" Mary Margaret felt a protective streak coming over her, even though she knew full well that Emma, a very capable ex-bail bonds person, can take care of herself.

"No, no threats this time," Emma replied. "Yet."

"Don't let her make you feel guilty for wanting to spend time with Henry," Mary Margaret encouraged the blonde. No one has ever been brave enough to stand up to Regina like Emma had. "He's been so happy since you came back into his life," she continued. "Regina may have clothed him, fed him, put a roof over this head, but her controlling nature just stifles him. Honestly, I can see why he tries so hard to distance himself from her."

Emma frowned as she listened to the school teacher, surprised that she actually felt offended by her opinion of Regina.  _'Am I the only one that can see she's not always a cold hearted overbearing bitch? Especially when it comes to Henry?'_

"I kissed her," she stated simply, as if it would somehow redeem Regina's worth.

Mary Margaret paused, and shook her head. "I'm sorry, I thought I heard you said you kissed her."

"You heard right," Emma grumbled. "I went over there that night, you know, after the mineshaft incident, having all the intention to give her a piece of my mind. And I ended up drinking her wine and kissing her. So now every time I see her, I have this feeling like I'm inferior to her… like..."

"Why?" Mary Margaret questioned completely confused.

"Because I made the wrong move. I'm the one that screwed up. Now it's like she's on the high ground, she gets to call the shots." answered Emma.

"No, I mean why did you kiss her?" Mary Margaret asked with a disdained look on her face.

' _Yeah, why did I?'_  "I dunno, heat of the moment, the alcohol," Emma tried to explain.

"Wow, you must've drank a lot then," Mary Margaret commented, "cause you gotta be pretty drunk to want to kiss that woman. She's scary."

' _Yeah, ONE glass of wine.'_  Emma refrained from correcting Mary Margaret how sober she actually was that night. Clearly she couldn't rely on her friend to offer helpful insight into why she kissed the mayor. Or why she still wants to. "I guess I just wasn't thinking right," she was trying to convince herself more than Mary Margaret.

A knock on the door interrupted any further discussion on the matter. Relieved, Emma jumped up eagerly to get the door.

"Kid?" She barely had enough time to register Henry's presence before he said a quick hello, slipped past her and into the apartment.

Emma watched him take her seat at the table. She turned back to the door, craning her head out into the hallway, half expected Regina to materialize. Seeing the hallway void of the mayor, Emma retreated back into the apartment and closed the door.

Henry was in an animated conversation with Mary Margaret. He also had taken possession of her plate of pasta and stealing pieces of chicken. "You can't give up, Miss Blanchard!" he urged.

Mary Margaret, true to form as a school teacher, gave the young boy a patient look. "Henry, he made his choice already. I'm not going to get in the middle of their marriage."

"Hey, that's mine." Emma pulled the plate away from the boy, ignoring his pout.

Mary Margaret looked at the childish antics of her roommate and the little boy and sighed. "Henry would you like some pasta? We have extras."

Henry beamed a huge smile. "Thank you, Miss Blanchard." While his teacher was in the kitchen, he turned to Emma, "We need to talk. Can we go somewhere?"

"Now? I need to eat. I'm starving." Emma protested.

Henry refused to relent. "I haven't seen you all week! We need to discuss Operation Cobra!"

Emma rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine. Grab your plate."

* * *

They ended up on the rooftop patio of the apartment building, but not before swiping Mary Margaret's last bag of chocolate chip cookies. Henry looked around curiously, having never been up here before. It had a few pots of shrubs, a flower bed that had seen better days. An old rusty barbecue sat in one corner. After he's satisfied with his investigation, he returned to Emma, who was lounging on a lawn chair, finishing up her lunch. He sat on the other chair, forgoing the pasta going straight for the cookies instead.

"Why can't we talk downstairs? Mary Margaret knows about this fairytale business, she gave you the book in the first place," Emma asked the boy.

Henry shook his head. "She's not ready to be part of the operation. She doesn't believe."

"That didn't stop you from insisting the operation on me," she reminded him.

"You're different. You are the hero, so you are crucial to the operation whether you are ready or not," he explained.

Not fully understanding his logic, Emma gave up, "Whatever, kid." She swallowed a mouth full of pasta before continuing. "So, what little lie did you feed your mother this time to sneak away?"

Henry shrugged. "I didn't have to lie. She has town council meetings every Saturday from 10 to 5. She thinks I'm at home doing my homework right now."

"Weekly town council meetings? Huh… Graham didn't tell me about that. You'd think it would be important for me as deputy to attend one of those," Emma stated thoughtfully.

"As far as I remember, only mom and the sheriff attend these meetings," Henry stated offhandedly.

Emma's brow furrowed in confusion, "Really? Why? That doesn't make any..." An inkling began to form in her mind. ' _Could they be...?'_  The thought of Regina and Graham together made her queasy. She pushed her unfinished plate of pasta away. She peeked at the boy, who seemed unaffected by the information. "Every week?"

Henry wrinkled his nose and nodded. "Yeah. Hey, what happened last week? Marco had to come and patch up that hole in our kitchen."

"Where do they have this council meeting?" Emma didn't hear his question.

"Who? Mom and the sheriff? Maybe at the town hall? Who cares!" he grabbed Emma face with his hands. "Focus!"

Emma shook her head free. "Okay, okay!" She pretended to take a minute to think. "Nothing happened."

' _That you should know about_ ,' she added silently.

Henry regarded her skeptically, "You sure?"

"Yes," she assured. "Why? What new fairy tale revelations have I kick started?"

"Dr. Hopper suddenly wants no part of Operation Cobra. He said my 'ideas'," he air-quoted with his fingers, "are too dangerous to have."

"He's right you know," she pointed out.

"Whose side are you on?" he demanded.

' _Don't destroy his imagination. Don't destroy his imagination,'_  Emma chanted in her head, remembering what Archie told her.

"Yours, of course. You are an integral part of the operation. What am I supposed to do if something happens to you and I have no one to interpret that book for me?" Henry seemed to accept that reason. "Kid, have you figured out exactly HOW I'm supposed to break this curse?" Emma wondered out loud.

"I'm working on it." He shrugged flippantly.

Emma's jaw tightened at his nonchalant attitude, she gave the kid a stern look. "Cause it would be helpful to know what I am supposed to do, or what I am NOT supposed to do." ' _Like kissing your mom!'_

"You will know what the right thing to do is. You are the hero." Henry assured his reluctant accomplice.

Emma rolled her eyes. "I was afraid you would say that."

Changing the subject, Henry jumped up excitingly, "Hey guess what? I figured out who Hansel and Gretel are in my class!"

* * *

Regina emerged from the back door of Granny's B&B distracted, as she had been the past hour, so much so that she cut short the rendezvous with Graham.

His weekly report on Emma Swan had been dismal and mundane. The new deputy had answered a few disturbance calls, gave out a handful of speeding tickets and parking violations, and the rest of the time catching up on paperwork.

But that wasn't what she was distressed about.

Much to her consternation, her mind had been preoccupied by the blonde at the worst possible moments. Every kiss with Graham made her think about how a proper kiss with Emma would be like. Every time she touched Graham's bare skin, she wondered how different it would be to run her hands over curves instead of hard muscles. Every look into Graham's eyes was returned with dull submission, so unlike the fiery blue ones she had lately been subjected to.

Irritated, she ran her hands through her hair, trying to make sense of her thoughts as she walked to her car.

' _I'm not losing it. There is an explanation for this nonsense,'_  She convinced herself. _'After nearly 3 decades sleeping with the same man, I'm surprised at myself for not looking elsewhere sooner. Granted, no one had actually dared to broach me on the idea. So naturally, it is logical that the one person who has made it an incessant mission to invade my life would start to invade my thoughts… Right?'_

It serves nothing more other than a blatant reminder that she needs to get rid Emma Swan.

By the time Regina reached her car, she had persuaded herself enough with her rationalization that she had not gone crazy.

A glance at her surrounding before getting into her car she realized she had parked across Mr. Gold's pawn shop. She made a quick decision and crossed the street to it.

The bell jingled as she pushed the shop's door open, announcing her presence. While Regina often makes it a point to personally visit various establishments around town to keep tabs on the townsfolk, she tends to avoid the pawn shop. She cautiously walked further into the shop, her eyes roaming over the strange objects Mr. Gold have collected over the years, no doubt payments from silly fools that made a deal with him.

' _People don't stray far from their true nature_ ,' she mused.

Regina had a pretty much concluded that most of the items in the shop originate from The Enchanted Forest. Something about the weird knick knacks, never fails to send a familiar, but unwelcome, feeling through her.

"Hello, Madam Mayor," a voice spoke from behind her.

Regina jumped, turning to the sudden voice she watched as Mr. Gold slithered into sight from behind a display case.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence gracing my humble shop?" the pawn dealer greeted with his signature ominous grin.

It was not a good day to try her patience. "I need you to tell me exactly who Emma Swan is."

"Ah yes, Miss Swan." He chuckled. He limped closer to the Mayor, reaching out a hand to touch a baby mobile of unicorn figurines. "Quite the charming character, isn't she?"

Regina had no time to indulge in his cryptic banter. "Tell me what you know," she requested again.

"Haven't we had this conversation already?" He snickered, amused by the Mayor's desperation. "As you are well aware, my service always comes with a price. How much are you willing to pay?"

"What do you want?" her voice clipped and sharp.

"Actually, this might turn out to be favor for you, if you choose to view it that way. I would like you to list me as Henry's legal guardian," he spoke with glee in his eyes.

Regina's hackles rose immediately at the mention of Henry. "What in the hell for?"

"Well, the future is unpredictable. If something were to happen to you, I'm sure you don't want Henry to fall into the care of Miss Swan," he answered calmly.

"Did you just threaten me?" She snarled.

"Oh no, Madam. I wouldn't dare." Mr. Gold chuckled. "You see, I'm very fond of young Henry. Such a special boy. I just want to make sure he's taken care of."

"No deal." It was not a matter up for negotiation as far as Regina was concerned. She regarded the creepy pawn dealer with cautious eyes. "Well, this proves to be a waste of my precious time."

As she turned to leave, Mr. Gold called out to her, halting her steps, "Madam Mayor, I will give you a freebie, I suppose." His grin widened when Regina turned around, gaining her attention again. "Emma Swan will be not rid of by your usual idle threats. If you really want her gone, you'd need to resort to something more... drastic," he emphasized the last word with a sinister smile.

The pawn dealer watched as Regina silently mulled over his words, pleased that she appeared to acknowledge the underlying meaning of his message. The Mayor gave him a long, considering look before turning to the door again and left the shop.

Mr. Gold watched with calculating eyes as Regina briskly cross the street and climb back into her car. As she peeled down the street and out of his sight, he mused to himself; patience is the key to catching big fish. Something that Regina had always lacked.

* * *

A few hours later Emma's yellow bug pulled to a stop in front of the Henry's home. It was still well before 5 o'clock so the Mayor shouldn't be home yet. He climbed out of the car and scrambled up the path to the house, spinning around to wave at her while trying to keep his backpack on his shoulder. Emma couldn't help but smile at his antics. She glanced down at his seat and noticed he left the new comic books they just bought together. Quickly grabbing them she got out of the car and went after him.

"Henry." She caught up to him. "You forgot these."

He gave her a sheepish grin, turned his back towards her do she can put the comics in his back pack. "Thanks."

Just as Emma was about done zipping up the bag, the front door flung open and Regina stepped out. She leaned against the door frame, crossed her arms and shot both her son and her enemy an unimpressed look.

Caught in the act and not prepared to find Regina home, both Henry and Emma froze on the spot. Neither could read the Mayor's expressionless face.

"Get inside," Regina directed the order at Henry, who gave Emma a questioning look, but complied when the blonde straightened up and gave him a small pat on his back. Henry slipped pass his mother, giving her a cautious look before disappearing into the house. "You too."

This time the command was directed at Emma. She shuffled towards the mayor, but stopped when she cleared the steps of the stoop. There were a few feet of space in between her and the Mayor, and she thought that was already close enough. "I'm good here."

Regina looked as if she was going to insist her order, but she let it slide. "I really don't appreciate you sneaking my son off."

"I didn't sneak him off. He came looking for me!" Emma argued. "As usual!"

"Then maybe you should have been more responsible and returned him home at once," Regina rebuked.

Emma scoffed, "Right, return him to an empty house while you go make your booty call." She took a stab in the dark and when Regina did not deny the accusation. "Ah ha!"

Regina refused to be fazed. "So I had sex. What's the big deal?" Giving the blonde a bored look.

"What's the big deal?" Emma had a million reasons in her head, but didn't think they were good enough reasons to vocalize since they all had to do with her having a problem with Regina sleeping with Graham. Or with anyone else for that matter. "Well... Uh... Henry could find out!"

Regina hadn't meant for Henry to know, but if he did… "Then I suppose I will have the TALK with MY son. Actually I've been looking forward to this day. It is, after all, a privilege of parenthood." She smirked.

Emma chose to ignore the jib. "Why Graham?"

Regina rolled her eyes. ' _Oh spare me, now they are crushing on each other.'_

"Why not him?" Hearing that made Emma conjure up images of Regina and Graham naked with each other. Thinking how he had his hands all over her makes her blood boils. Her expression must have indicated her fury because Regina asked, "Are you jealous, dear?" in a taunting tone.

' _God this woman makes me so mad!'_  Emma became defensive. "You're crazy! I'm not jealous of Graham!"

Regina blinked, and processed the words she just heard.  _'Why would she say she wasn't jealous OF Graham? Unless... Oh...'_

Her annoyance turned to amusement as she watched the blonde deputy pace around the stoop. It stopped being funny, however, when Emma decided to take out her anger by kicking one of her planters knocking it over. The pot cracked on the cement and soil spilled everywhere. "You know you are doing an incredibly convincing job of showing how immature you are. And you wonder why I don't want my son associating with you?"

Emma was so pissed off at everything at the moment; she couldn't get her wits together enough to continue the conversation. So she flipped Regina the bird and stomped off.

"My point exactly~" Regina called out as Emma got back into her car. She watched as the yellow bug disappeared from sight, a thoughtful expression on her face.

* * *

Mary Margaret was on the couch reading a book when Emma returned to the apartment. The blonde slammed the door shut, without giving her roommate a glance, stomped up the stairs to her room. Mary Margaret waited until it was quiet again before putting down her book to check on Emma.

She found Emma lying face down on her bed. She lightly tapped on the door frame.

"I'm not in the mood for talking," Emma mumbled.

"I finally went out and bought beer," Mary Margaret helpfully enticed. Which was successful as Emma turned her head towards her peeking at the two bottles in her hand.

Emma grumpily sat up holding out her hand for the beer. The school teacher smiled and handed a bottle over, taking a seat on the bed. She took a sip of the beverage, and scowled at taste of it. While Emma quickly downed almost half the bottle in a few gulps.

"Had another run in with the Mayor?" Mary Margaret guessed, since the blonde left with Henry in high spirits.

Emma usually doesn't go around spreading other people's business, but she really needed to get this off her chest and Mary Margaret had been such a good friend. "Did you know Regina is sleeping with Graham?"

"Uh no... Really?" Mary Margaret then shrugged. "Well they are adults, but I guess I can see why you are upset by it."

"You can?" Emma raised an eyebrow at her roommate.

"Yes. Emma, you need to stop putting up walls. You can't keep people you like at arm's length. If you like Graham you should-"

Emma stopped Mary Margaret mid-sentence, "Whoa! I don't like Graham. Not in that sense anyway. Where did you get that crazy idea?"

"Well... You were so upset about Regina sleeping with him, so I thought it's because you had feelings for him," the school teacher explained her thought process. "But it's the other way around isn't it?"

Emma's deflated sigh confirmed her assumption. Mary Margaret regarded her friend with sympathetic eyes, absolutely understanding what it is like to have feelings for people you shouldn't be having. "Hey, I got some really good advice recently, if it feels wrong, it is."

The response she received from Emma was a miserable pout.

Wanting to help cheer up her friend and figuring staying in to consume more alcohol may not be the best solution, she took away the half-finished bottle of beer dangling from blonde's fingers and patted her affectionately on the back. "C'mon, I'm taking you out for dinner. I hear a burger calling your name at Granny's."

Emma let out a long, tired breath. Although staying right where she was with the rest of the beer was a more appealing option, unfortunately she had a morning shift scheduled tomorrow. Reluctantly, she allowed herself to be pulled to her feet by her roommate, resigning to the fact that having some greasy, artery clogging food will be the most comfort she would get for now.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Disclaimer: Blah. Blah. Not mine or yours, I think they're ABC's.** _

_**Warnings: This fanfic depicts romantic notions between two adult women. If you don't like that, well, I'm sorry for you.** _

_**Note: So sorry for the late update! During the mid OUAT season break, I discovered Rizzoli & Isles. OH MY GOD! How did I miss this show for the last two years? So yeah, I got side tracked… Anyway, here's chapter 4 finally. Thanks for all the reviews! Keep them coming! And as always, thank you Haku2009 for proof reading!** _

* * *

The rain was coming down hard as Regina drove home after picking up Henry from his session with Dr. Hopper. Between the constant rain splattered windshield and the slick reflective surface of the pavement, Regina really had to strain to see where she was going. Briefly taking her hand off the steering wheel, she turned up the speed of the wiper blades.

She was stressed and tired. But there was a small spark of optimism that her problems will all end soon, having finally come to a decision as to what to do with Emma Swan. Mr. Gold had implied it and Regina thought she should pay heed his cryptic caveat to be on the cautious side. She was convinced the pawn broker was plotting up some kind of scheme. And nothing Mr. Gold comes up with is ever good. But she can't concentrate on dealing with him until Emma is out of her hair.

' _Something drastic.'_  That's what she needed to do to get rid of Emma Swan.

She had considered staging an "accident" of some kind. She ran a few ideas in her head and knew she had to be discrete. However, that in itself was a problem because there was not a soul in town that she can adequately trust to delegate the task to. Never mind the nagging reluctance to carry out her plans in the back of her mind she was trying to ignore.

Stopping at a red light, Regina looked over at her son in the passenger seat next to her. He was quiet, as usual, facing away from her and gazing out the window. She used to try engaging him in conversations but had given up after many failed attempts. Her impatience and his reluctance to talk to her just fuelled the growing distance between them. Regina's eyes raked over the boy's brown shaggy hair, her hand ache to reach out and touch the fine strands. He'd need a haircut soon.

"Henry." Breaking the silence, she waited until he turns to her before continuing. "Who is Emma in that fairy tale book of yours?"

Henry studied her for a minute his brown eyes obvious of distrust. "She's not in the book," he answered simply before turning away again.

Regina pursed her lips, keeping her focus on the steady red light, swallowing down the hurt from Henry's dismissive attitude. She could tell he was lying. Of course she can, she raised him.

Finally the light turned green, she released the brakes and rolled the car into the intersection. "Henry-"

He turned to her again but before she could get another word out, bright lights appeared behind Henry, dousing him in darkness from being backlit. It took only a moment for Regina to realize the lights were headlights of a car speeding towards them, on Henry's side of the vehicle.

There was no time to scream, no time to try to steer the car away, no time to... Instinctively, she put out one hand to hold Henry back into the seat, the other hand went out towards the car, as if to stop it by will alone.

' _No!'_

* * *

Graham nervously walked back into his glass encased office after refilling his cup of coffee from the kitchenette. Sitting down at his desk, he brought the cup up to his lips and took a sip. He peeked over the rim and sure enough, Emma was glaring at him from across the station. He quickly and stiffly swiveled to one side in his chair, averting the eye contact of his deputy and returned his focus on the file he was reviewing.

The tension at the station had been growing for the last couple of days and Graham could not for the life of him figure out why. It was a huge letdown for the sheriff. He had come in to work after the weekend with high spirits because Regina had informed him she doesn't wish to meet this Saturday. It had been a long time since he had a Saturday to himself. He had hoped to maybe ask Emma out on a date. But the blonde's hostile attitude made it extremely difficult for him to make the move.

BAM!

Graham nearly jumped out of his seat as the stack of file folders slammed down onto his desk. With his heart still pounding he looked up at Emma who was crackling with hostile energy.

"If you don't have any more cases for me to follow up on I'd like to be relieved of duties and go home early." Her tone of voice indicated she was not expecting any refusal on her request.

"Uh... sure," Graham stammered, after finally calming down his tachycardic heart. He watch as Emma turn for the door. He really hated having the blonde mad at him. Desperate to end the tension between them, Graham called and stopped her before she slipped out the door, "Emma."

Letting out an exasperated sigh, she turned on her heels and faced Graham again. "What?"

"Is something wrong?" He bravely ventured. "I mean, you seem angry..."

"No. Nothing is wrong," Emma replied, despite the fact her tone of voice said otherwise. Emma knew she was being unfair to Graham taking out her frustration on him. Technically he didn't do anything wrong by sleeping with Regina. Mary Margaret was correct that they are both adults. It really wasn't Graham's fault Emma was jealous because of her own attraction to Regina. She couldn't help reacting to whole situation like she had always done, by lashing out. Graham just happened to be an easy scapegoat. Maybe she'll call in sick tomorrow and take a few days off to cool off. "Good night, Graham." She turned around again to leave.

"Wait, Emma!" he called out again.

Emma let her head drop. Taking a deep breath to control her growing irritation, she turned around and gave Graham a question look.

"I- I was wondering," he continued nervously, "If you are free this Saturday?"

Emma studied him for a moment. "Are you asking me out on a date?"

Graham smiled shyly. "Yeah."

Emma took the two steps back towards the desk, bracing her hands on the surface she leaned down and leveled him with a hard look. "Would that be before or after you fuck Regina?"

Caught completely off guard, Graham's eyes widen in surprise at her knowledge of the affair he had with Regina.

Emma huffed at his silence and backed out of the office.

Shaking out of his shock, Graham came around the desk following the blonde. "Emma, listen to me."

Emma ignored him and continued to gather up her belongings.  _'The audacity!'_  Emma couldn't believe his nerve to ask her out while sleeping with Regina on the side. She tried to slip pass him but he blocked her way.

"Just give me a minute to explain," he pleaded.

"You don't owe me an explanation." She did not want to have this conversation with him.

"I need to explain. Please!" Graham ran his hands through his mass of unruly brown hair, scrambling to get his thoughts together. "We... Me and Regina did have an arrangement of some kind. It was nothing. It meant nothing! And I'm pretty sure it's in the past. It's over between us."

Now Emma was intrigued. "What do you mean?"

"She called and said she didn't want to meet this week. Honestly, I'm relieved. And I kinda saw it coming. She was so distracted the last time we were together." Graham watched the thoughtful expression on Emma's face and was feeling more hopeful as her anger seemed to dissipate a little.

Emma wanted to ask Graham more questions about this new turn of event but before she could, the radios crackled to life as the dispatch reported a motor vehicle accident.

* * *

Emma and Graham arrived at the scene in separate cars. The rain had let up and it was now only a light drizzle. Getting out, they surveyed the scene quickly. EMT and the fire department have already arrived. Billy with the tow truck was on the sideline on standby.

Fear gripped Emma as she spotted the black Mercedes with its front end wrapped around a pole. She ran towards the wreck, almost tripped as her step faltered. It was Regina's car, no doubt about it. It looked like it was rear ended into the pole by the truck, which incidentally received minor damages.

One of the firefighters who were first on scene came over to give them report, "Two vehicle incident. That black one was rear ended by that blue truck. If you don't already know, the black one is the Mayor's car. We sent both her and her son off to the hospital as soon as the first EMT arrived. From what I saw, the Mayor sustained a laceration to her head. The boy was unconscious. The driver of the truck got off with just a few scratches. He's sitting there by the curb. You'd want to check out the cab of his truck."

Emma and Graham exchanged looks. They walked over to the truck and peered into the cab. Emma sucked in a breath, her nose flared in fury as she took in the empty beer cans on floor of the cab. She slammed the door shut with so much force Graham thought she'd take it off at the hinges.

Emma stormed over to the drunken man, hauled Leroy to his feet by the lapels and slammed him against the wall of one of the stores that lined the street.

"Ow!" He complained. Seemingly still inebriated, he feebly clawed at the hands that had an iron grip on his shirt.

Smelling the obvious alcohol on his breath, Emma growled and slammed him against the wall again. An overwhelming urge to strangle him threatened to overcome her. "If anything happens to them..." She shook him violently.

Graham intervened and pulled her off the drunken man before she resort to doing something totally out of protocol. "Emma! Hey! Okay, let me handle this. Go to the hospital." He knew she was worried about Henry. "Go! I got this."

Giving Leroy one last warning look, she turned and climbed back into her car, speeding off with tires squealing.

* * *

Getting to the hospital in record time, Emma bolted through the automatic glass doors before they were even fully opened. She stepped out into the ER waiting area, turning around a corner she skidded to a stop when she saw Regina talking with Dr. Whale. A brief glance her way indicated Regina had noticed her arrival. So Emma decided to just stay back until she was done conversing with the doctor before approaching her.

She shoved her hands into her pockets and leaned against the wall. While she waited, she took the opportunity to sort out her emotions. The anxiety that had been gnawing in her gut subsided slightly at the sight of Regina. Her usual flawlessly styled hair was a mess, tussled from being wet in the rain, a hospital blanket wrapped around her upper body, probably to help keep her warm as her expensive clothes were ruined by the rain. Dark stains clearly evident on the knees of her pants. Regina looked disheveled, but Emma was relieved to see her relatively okay physically.

"Thank you, doctor," Regina gracefully bided the physician before he walked away. She took a breath to steel herself before turning to the blue eyes she could feel on her.

Emma pushed off the wall when Regina turned and beckoned her with an eyebrow arch. Walking over, it wasn't until she came even with the Mayor that she noticed the gauze taped over her right eye. Emma swallowed down a tightness in her chest at the sight.

Clearing her throat, she asked, "Is Henry okay?"

Regina fully intended to give Emma the usual 'it's none of your business' spew. But taking pity in the blonde's worried expression, she instead replied, "They are running some test right now on his head. He lost consciousness for a few minutes after the crash. Dr. Whale suspected he had a concussion. Now it's just a matter of concluding if it's a minor one or not."

Emma nodded, appreciating that Regina hadn't responded with her typical reproach. She studied the other woman's face, noting the tense lines around her mouth and her eyes, not to mention the injury on her forehead.

"Are you okay?" she asked softly.

Three simple words were all it took to threaten Regina's composure. It was unnerving. _'No, I'm not okay! I was just in a car accident. The extent of my son's injuries is undetermined. I'm tired and sore all over!'_

But she couldn't give in and confess all that to Emma, standing there watching her with those discerning blue eyes. She would not be Regina Mills otherwise. Regina Mills does not cave in and display weakness. So she clinched her jaw to control her emotions and gathered her resolve.

"I'm fine," her voice turned cold and terse. "You can go on home now, deputy. Henry is in good hands."

"Really?" Blonde eyebrows shot up at the quick change of attitude and Emma stared at the infuriating woman incredulously. She was about throw back a biting comment when her cell phone buzzed. Shooting the Mayor a look indicating she's not done with her yet, she stepped away to answer the call.

"Yeah?" Emma growled into the phone.

Graham's voice filtered through the ear piece. "Hey, got words on Henry?"

"They think he's okay. Probably a concussion," Emma reported. "He's getting his head scanned right now. I'll stick around to make sure."

"Is Regina gonna be okay with that?" Graham questioned.

"Hey! He's my son too!" she snapped, still miffed about Regina's dismissal a few minutes prior. She wasn't about to let the Mayor send her off before she is certain Henry will be okay.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry," Graham quickly soothed. "Let me know if you need anything."

"Sure Graham. Good night." She ended the phone call, stuffing the phone back into her pocket.

Regina had obviously took the phone call as an opportunity to cease any further interaction with her and had taken a seat in the waiting area with her back to Emma. Sighing, she figured she'd better replenish on some caffeine before facing what seemed like will be a long night for both of them.

* * *

This late into the night, even the ER unit had quieted down. It didn't take long for Regina to be lost in her thoughts, sitting alone in the waiting area. She looked down at her hands, turning them over and back.

' _I couldn't keep him safe.'_  The events of the car crash replayed in her mind, disappointed with how weak and unreliable her powers are.

Footsteps broke her train of thoughts. She knew, without looking up, who the footsteps belong too. The fact that she recognized them made her frown. She can already imagine it in her head, of Emma walking towards her with that cocksure swagger.

A coffee cup appeared in her view. Regina ignored it. "I thought I told you to leave."

Emma claimed a seat a couple of chairs down from Regina, putting the rejected coffee on the floor. "Can't leave till I get a statement from you. Part of the job."

Regina finally lifted her head to make eye contact. "Seriously? Now?" she asked in disbelief.

Emma shrugged, taking a sip of her coffee. "Whenever you are ready. I have all night." Stretching out her booted legs, she wiggled in the hard plastic chair to find a comfortable position.

Regina didn't want to raise her voice arguing with the blonde and make a scene at the hospital. She simply turned her gaze back to her hands, easily slipped back into her thoughts.

Stealing glances at the demurred woman while sipping from the Styrofoam cup, Emma watched as Regina retreated back into her thoughts. The usually poised Mayor looked exhausted and lonely. The fact that no one bothered to come to the hospital or call Regina to see if she was okay wasn't lost to her. The thought made her sad and she wanted to close the three empty seats distance between them.

Silence stretched on. Emma almost finished her coffee when finally Regina spoke.

"I had just picked Henry up from his appointment with Dr. Hopper," her voice was low and soft, her eyes remained locked on her hands. "It was like any other Wednesday night. I was driving us home. And on the way I tried to get my son to talk to me." Her lips pulled up slightly into a bitter smile. "I had the green light, I was sure of it even with the poor visibility from the down pour. I rolled into the intersection." She paused as the scenario of the bright headlights filled her mind. "I tried-I tried to get the car out of the way..." Guilt laced her voice.

It was enough for Emma to throw away any caution and closed in the distance between her and Regina. She reached out to put a hand on the woman's back but pulled back the last moment.

"It wasn't your fault!" Emma asserted, tilting her head to the side to try to catch the Mayor's eyes.

Startled by the blonde's sudden proximity and the sureness in her voice, Regina could only stare. A part of her, the logical part that is buried by the emotional onslaught tonight, knows the accident was not her fault. She just hadn't been able to convince herself of it. It was a strange feeling. Logical or not, it was astonishing how things can be so much more believable when it was coming from someone else.

The quiet moment was broken by the arrival of the doctor. Both women stood up anxiously.

"Good news." Dr. Whale smiled at the visible relief that washed over the two women. "The scan showed up clean. I don't see anything that concerns me to keep him here overnight."

"Oh thank god." Regina released the breath she's been holding.

"Take him home. My prescription would be plenty of rest, nothing strenuous. Let him take a few days off from school. Give him regular Tylenol for any pain. As for tonight," he held out a pamphlet to Regina, "just wake him every hour so and make sure he doesn't exhibit any symptoms described in the pamphlet."

"Thank you, doctor." In a rare display of genuine sincerity, Regina reached for his hand, taking it into hers.

"You're very welcome. Have a good night, ladies." Dr. Whale walked off leaving Regina and Emma alone again.

After a brief moment of awkward silence, Regina finally said, "I'll go sign his release papers. You can-"

"I can go get my car and bring it around." Emma cut her off before the woman can tell her to go home again.

When Regina didn't protest, she trotted off leaving the Mayor to wrap up the paperwork and gather Henry.

* * *

The drive back to Regina's house was quiet. Regina had insisted on climbing into the cramped back seat of the beetle with Henry so she can hold on to him. Periodically, Emma's eyes will veer off the road and lock on to the rear view mirror. The scene in the reflection was searing itself into her memory with every minute. Henry had fallen asleep within minutes into the ride and was now slumped against Regina's side. Regina had her arms protectively around the boy and every so often, she'll press her lips against his head. Watching them made all the feelings clear for Emma. These two people are becoming important to her.

Rolling to a stop in front of the white mansion, Emma killed the engine and quickly climbed out of the car.

"Hold on," she instructed before pushing her seat forward to make room for Regina and Henry. With him sleeping Regina was having trouble getting both him and herself out at the same time. "Here." Emma reached in for Henry. "Let me take him."

Regina almost refused, but there was no way she can get out of the damn bug by herself without waking Henry. Reluctantly, she allowed Emma to take Henry from her arms.

' _Shit he's heavy!'_  Emma groaned as she tried to settle the boy in her arms. Even in his sleep, he naturally wrapped his arms around her neck, holding on.

"I got him." She subtly pleaded for permission to carry Henry.

Relenting to yet another push of many tonight at her boundaries, Regina lead them up to the house without another word. She watched with regret at how natural Emma looked with Henry in her arms as she walked up the stairs to his room. "Put him in my room. The doctor instructed that I keep an eye on him tonight."

After settling Henry into bed, the two women made their way back downstairs stopping at the bottom of the stairs. An uneasy silence settled over them.

Emma shoved her hands into her pocket. "Well, I guess I should go," she said almost reluctantly.

"Yes, it's late." Regina agreed, and frowned when Emma didn't move from her spot.

The Mayor wanted nothing more to be alone. She just wanted to go make herself a pot of coffee for the long night ahead and settle in the darkness of her bedroom so she can repair the chinks in her armour that the woman standing in front of her have been chipping at all night. Indeed, it was  _nice_  to have someone stick around and stay with her at the hospital. But she'd be damned if she allows this to become some kind of invitation for Emma to further invade her and Henry's lives.

"Look, if Henry needs anything-" Emma started.

But quickly Regina cut her off, "He has me."

Deflated by the truth of the statement, Emma conceded with a sigh, "Of course." She held Regina's steady gaze, and couldn't help but notice those dark eyes gleamed in defiance, unwilling to accept help of any kind or from anyone.

Although she was no stranger to putting up walls herself, Emma couldn't shake the disappointment of being kept on the outside of Regina's. Then she had an idea. A crazy idea.

It took less than two steps to bring her within arm's length of the Mayor. Emma watched in fascination as Regina's confidence wavered as she close in the distance.

Apprehensive to what the blonde's intention was, Regina quickly placed a hand on Emma's chest to halt her steps. "What are you doing?"

"If  _you_  need anything," Emma took a deep breath before continuing, "you have me."

Dark eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "Excuse me?"

' _Shit! How did I come to think this was a good idea?'_ Emma kicked herself.

"Hey, it's just an offer. You don't need to take me up on it," Emma added and shrugged, putting on an air of indifference. "I know that it's not easy being alone..."

It took a moment before Regina can fully process what Emma's offer meant, and then took another extra moment register the pounding under her hand. Curiously, she looked down at her palm that was still held over Emma's heart, then up at Emma's face, then down again.  _'Am I just imagining this… or is her heart beating as fast as mine?'_

Taking the opportunity to be freed of the eyes, Emma took her hand out of her pocket. She reached up tentatively and brushed her fingers across the gauze over Regina's eyes. Her gut twisted yet again thinking about the injury. It was a novel experience for Emma, to ache for someone else's pain. She'd never care enough for anyone else before. Not until Henry came back into her life. Not until Storybrooke. Not until...  _'Damn her eyes... I can drown in them.'_

Then those said eyes fluttered shut when fingertips strayed away from the gauze and grazed over soft skin. Emma leaned even closer.

' _I'm so gonna get slapped for this.'_  She raised her other hand to cover Regina's over her chest, tethering the Mayor to her, and at the same time touched her lips to Regina.

Regina immediately tensed at the contact. While her mind was screaming at her to stop this nonsense, every physical fibre in her body was pushing her to give in to Emma's touch.

So she did. And was surprised to find surrendering was a lot easier than she had expected as she responded to the kiss. Regina relaxed and allowed herself the luxury of a delusion, even if only for a short moment, where she's not alone, where someone was there to tell her things will be okay and to soothe away her pain. She could _almost_  believe she was happy.

It wasn't until Emma's tongue boldly but gently tracing along Regina's upper lip that caused her knees to buckle under her and snapped her out of her deluded state. Giving a firm push with her hand she broke the kiss and put some distance between them. It took every ounce of will power she had left to take another step back from the blonde.

' _This is insane,'_  Regina thought as she tried to focus on thinking and not how her body is responding to the aftermath of the kiss.

She eyed Emma warily, "Very gutsy for you to try that again, Swan. Have you forgotten what happened last time?" Hoping the taunt will send the blonde into her usual obnoxious attitude that she was used to dealing with.

Emma was reeling inside from the kiss herself. However, unlike the mayor, she wasn't confused. If she thought her idea was crazy before, she still thought so. But she would do it again and again and again, no doubt about it.

She smiled easily at Regina's question, "No, I haven't forgotten. And I wasn't worried, I have extremely quick reflexes." She grinned.

Regina was finding it extremely hard to consider any of this funny. The fact that Emma seemed to be taking all this in stride while she was on the verge of falling apart at the seams added to her growing frustration. Before she gave it another thought, her hand shot up, intended to strike that smirk off Emma's face. But her hand never made it to its mark.

Emma caught her wrist in a sure grip inches away from her face, her grin grew wider. "Told ya."

Emma didn't release Regina's arm until she felt the tension dissipate from the limb and her expression changed from defiant anger to complete discombobulation. She realized she was pushing the Mayor to her limits. The near slap was a clear enough message for her to call it a night.

Clearing her throat, "I should go." She reached behind her for the door. Crossing the threshold, she turned before closing the door and quietly added, "Good night, Regina."

With the click of the lock setting into place, Regina gave up all efforts to maintain her tattered composure. Dazed, she wandered into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine. She was on autopilot and just as she brought the glass to her lips, she remembered Henry. Letting out a long sigh, she poured the wine down the drain and started the coffee machine instead. She watched the brown liquid drip drop after drop into pot. She didn't notice the tears until they started to plunk onto the counter, almost in tune with the coffee drip.

She swiped the tears angrily off her cheeks.  _'Dear god, what has she done to me?_  '

_**A/N: So, Regina is gonna need a new car. Got any good ideas what kind of car she should get?** _


	5. Chapter 5

_**Disclaimer: Blah. Blah. Not mine or yours, I think they're ABC's.** _

_**Warnings: This fanfic depicts romantic notions between two adult women. If you don't like that, well, I'm sorry for you.** _

_**Note: Thanks for waiting so patiently for this chapter. And thanks for all the reviews! Keep them coming! And as always, thank you Haku2009 for proof reading!** _

* * *

It was well past midnight when Emma quietly slipped through the door of the apartment she shared with Mary Margaret. The sheriff department had been abnormally busy, as new leads on old cold cases began turning up in the past few days. She and Graham had to pull extra hours to cover each other's shifts.

The apartment was dark saved for the small lamp on the kitchen counter. Hanging up her beloved red leather jacket on the hook beside the door, she shuffled silently across the floorboards and into the kitchen. The drapes separating Mary Margaret's bed from the rest of the apartment were drawn, implying to Emma that the school teacher was already asleep.

Tired and hungry, she opened the fridge and pulled out a beer. While sipping on the cold brew, her eyes raked over the contents of the fridge and immediately lit up at the sight of her favourite dessert. ' _Cheesecake! Whoohoo!'_ Tilting the plate towards her she read the sticky note that was tacked on top of the cling wrap.

It read:  _Made this tonight_. _But you were working late again. Help yourself, ONLY after you eat a proper meal first. - MM_

An arrow was drawn underneath the message, pointing to the left to what looked to be a chicken salad wrap. Emma couldn't keep the smile off her face at Mary Margaret's thoughtful gesture. She pulled both dishes out and grabbed a fork from the drawer. After sending a silent thank you to her roommate, she tiptoed up the stairs to her room.

She flopped down on her bed after depositing her dinner on the night stand. Pulling her phone out of her jeans pocket she dialed a number that she had memorized already by heart. She balanced the plate of cheesecake on her lap, forking a piece of the dessert into her mouth while waiting for the call to connect.

It had been almost a week since the car accident. Regina hadn't allowed Emma to visit Henry, but with some firm insistence the Mayor eventually permitted Emma to call and get updates on the kid. It was not an arrangement Emma liked, but Regina left her with no room to argue, warning her not to push her luck or she'll be served with a restraining order.

Thoughts associated with the infuriating Mayor easily took her emotions on a roller coaster ride, a regular phenomenon for Emma lately. Regina's decision to shut her out again hurt. Emma was also pissed off that her effort to put aside her own insecurities, letting down her walls and reach out to another person totally went unappreciated.

But when Emma thought how unnatural it felt for her to put down her defense, she'd start to feel guilty for barging through Regina's carefully protected boundaries without much caution, knowing it must have drove the other woman crazy with her disregard to the limits that were set. Mary Margaret warned her to stop "poking the bear", but Emma just laughed it off and snickered at the imagery. She couldn't really picture Regina as a bear. The mayor was more cat-like. Perhaps a pather would be more fitting. And a black one at that. All dark and dangerous. But nonetheless graceful and, Emma had to be honest, very sexy.

Emma's attraction to Regina was undeniable. She simply had to comfort herself that there was still hope for them since Regina at least had allowed her to maintain telephone contact. Which unfortunately sent Emma back to feeling hurt again because of how ridiculous she thought it was to be barred from seeing her own son.

After four rings, the line was picked up. "Hello?" Henry's voice filtered through.

"Hey kid." Emma was a bit surprised at Henry answering the phone this late into the night. "How come you're still up? How's the head?"

"A lot better. I'm not as tired during the day anymore." Henry reported. "Mom said I can go back to school tomorrow."

"Glad to hear you're doing better. Take it easy, you hear?" Emma smiled into the phone.

"Emma... when can I see you? There's something really important I need to tell you." Henry said with a sense of urgency.

Emma sighed helplessly. "I don't know, kid. Your mom said no visits for now."

"I hate that she won't let me see you!" He proclaimed, disdain clear in his voice.

"Don't be mad at your mom, Henry. She just... She just needed some space." Emma defended Regina without a second thought. "What is it that you wanted to tell me?"

"Well..." Henry hesitated. "I think I should wait until I see you in person. But I'm scared."

"Of what?" She drawled, almost afraid to find out what his statement meant.

"My mom." He answered simply.

Emma held back a frustrated sigh. ' _This is getting to be too much.'_  "Where is your mom anyway?" she asked.

"Mom's outside in the backyard." Henry answered, then continued with unease. "She's been acting really weird, Emma. I don't think she's slept since the car accident.

"She hasn't?" Surprised to learn of Regina's insomnia. ' _So I'm not the only one.'_ Emma briefly wondered if the usually impregnable Mayor was affected by her as much as she was affected by the other woman. Keeping the narcissistic part of her in check she pushed that self-indulging thought aside and focused on the issue at hand. "Henry, your mom won't hurt you." She assured patiently.

"You don't know that. She's the Evil Queen and she's capable of anything." The boy argued.

' _Why can't he be obsessed with Harry Potter instead like a normal kid?'_  Emma rubbed her temple and took a deep breath. "Know what, Henry? I'm going to go have a talk with your mom."

Regina stood alone in the garden looking up at her treasured apple tree. Running her hand along its trunk she hit the stump where a prominent branch used to be. She glowered at it. Hating that in such a short amount of time, Emma Swan left her mark on so many places in her life. With a slight tremble, her fingers reached up and touched her own lips, remembering the last encounter with the blonde woman and was immediately unnerved by the memory as her heart skipped a beat.

She couldn't help but feel she was fighting a losing battle trying to keep Emma away. As much as she hated to admit, Regina was quite at lost with what to do about this particular torn in her side. In the beginning of this nightmare, as she had taken to refer, she was so assured in her determination to drive Emma out of town and out of her life. She promised she would destroy the blonde woman and there wasn't an ounce of doubt in her mind that she could carry out her threat.

But Emma's unorthodox behaviour towards her made her uncharacteristically hesitant and indecisive in following through with her ruthless plans. The deputy's recent display of solicitude stir up emotions she long ago gave up hoping for. Now she found herself torn between wanting to believe Emma's concern to be real and knowing full well how impossible it was for Emma to genuinely care about her.

Simply because the curse does not allow it.

In the beginning when they first got sent here, she thought that with a clean she might finally have a real shot at happiness. Starving for affection, she had tried to be cordial, friendly even, to some of these people. She didn't hate all of them, some she actually tolerated. She was so hopeful and naive that she even thought she could find love.

But it didn't take long for Regina to realize that was not meant to be. Despite having no memory or knowledge of their past lives, not a soul in town showed anything but fear and distain for her.

So when Mr. Gold approached her with the prospect of adopting a child she jumped at the chance, hoping someone from the outside world would be immune to the curse. The first few years were bliss, when she kept Henry mostly to herself. But the effects of the curse seemed inevitable. Soon the boy she had given all her love to turned on her and shunned her for what she was in the other life.

It appeared that even in this lifetime, Regina was destined to be alone. She figured this must be the void Maleficient warned her about so long ago. The unexpected price she paid to enact the curse.

Not one to cry over spilled milk, so to speak, Regina just worked with what she was given. She wanted everyone's happy endings taken away and, in some way, she got her wish. The fact that she ended up in a position where she has the ultimate power to ensure her wish stay the way she liked it was a bonus.

_'If I can't get my happiness, neither will any of these pathetic fools.'_

Letting out an audible sigh, she turned back to the task she came out to do. Balancing herself precariously on a short stepladder, Regina stretched herself up into her beloved apple tree trying to cut off an inward growing branch. Dead in the middle of the night really wasn't the best time to be pruning fruit trees, but Regina couldn't sleep. Not since Emma kissed her again that other night. Taking care of the tree somehow calmed her, grounded her. The tree was the only constant in her life that hadn't betray her, have always allowed her to shape it as she see fits.

"Should you be doing that in the dark?"

The voice startled Regina, causing her to lose her footing on the ladder and she felt herself falling. She braced herself for the impact but it never came. Instead, sure arms wrapped themselves around her breaking the fall.

With dread, and strangely a touch of anticipation, Regina turned in the embrace and found Emma looking at her with an amused grin.

"Need a hand with your late night gardening project? I still got my chainsaw in the trunk of my car." The blonde teased.

Regina narrowed her eyes warily, annoyed by Emma's obvious amusement. "What are you doing here?" She scowled at her unexpected visitor.

"And hello to you too, Regina." Emma watched with mirth as Regina's eyes twitch. She's been purposely addressing the Mayor by her first name lately, knowing it annoys the hell out of the humorless woman. And also that Emma really likes how the name rolls off her tongue.

At such close proximity, Emma winced inwardly as she registered the dark circles under Regina's eyes. ' _Maybe_   _I should have came sooner...'_  Her thoughts were halted by a sharp pressure on her hallow of her neck. Backing up she looked down to find a pair of pruning shears firmly pushing against her skin. ' _Or not.'_

"Stay away from me." Regina pointed the gardening tool at the Deputy. Recent experiences in allowing Emma to get into her personal space proved to have all ended badly.

"Chill out, you don't need to be so hostile." Emma held up her hands in defense. "I'm just trying to be nice."

Convinced it was another pretentious act, part of some scheme the blonde was playing, Regina scoffed, "I don't need you to be nice. I need you to-"

"Leave?" Emma finished the sentence. "Are we back to that again?" She rolled her eyes. ' _What will it take you to quit trying to tell me to leave?'_  "There's this quote that says insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expect different result. So stop telling me to leave. It's getting old and you don't struck me as insane."

"There's also this quote that says the first day one is a guest, the second a burden, and the third a  _pest_." Regina countered without missing a beat, hissing out the last word.

"Touché." Emma muttered. She shoved her hands into her jeans pockets and looked away from the brown eyes that reflected nothing but loathe. Rocking lightly on her heels, she tried to appear nonchalant while she waited for the sting of Regina's words to pass.

Regina watched Emma's demeanor carefully and, for a fleeting second, she thought she caught a wounded look on the blonde's face. ' _I'm reading way too much into this. What do I care if her stupid feelings are hurt?'_

"Why are you really here, Swan?"

"Henry said you haven't been sleeping." Emma chose her next words carefully. "He is... worried about you." Emma glanced up at the house, catching a silhouette in Henry's bedroom window.

Since after the accident, Henry had refused to engage Regina in any conversation other than the occasional yes, no, and okay. Hearing her son had talked to Emma about her and, on top of it all, concerned about her easily garnered her full attention. But the sense of suspicion was still strong in Regina, refusing to let Emma bait her. "I'm fine." She stated firmly with a lift of her chin.

It was obvious to Emma that Regina was fighting down a desire to learn about the conversation she had with Henry. But even if the dark haired woman asked, Emma had no plans tell her what exactly their son had said. While Regina may be trying her damnest to maintain that hard-ass image, she had no doubt in her mind Henry's words would break the Mayor's heart into a thousand pieces.

It suddenly occurred to Emma how right it felt to shield Regina from any unnecessary heartaches. And the fact that no one else is willing to take Regina's feelings into any consideration made her take even more pride in her self-assigned responsibility.

Looking up at the tree and reached up to an apple, Emma snapped it off from its branch. "You know," tossing it in the air and catching it again casually. "Henry has this idea that your apples are poisonous."

"Excuse me?" Regina turned sharply to Emma, thoroughly insulted. Then she remembered, and frowned. "Right, of course. His fairy tales...and I'm the Evil Queen…" Regina seemed utterly beaten. Her next words were soft, barely audible, almost as if they were spoken only for her own ears. "He seemed to have forgotten how much he used to like apple pies made with apples from this tree."

But Emma heard them clearly. "Maybe you should remind him of that," Emma suggested. Rubbing the apple on her shirt, she made sure Henry was watching before she turned the fruit around in her hand and promptly picked a spot to bite down on it. Her blue eyes widened in surprise as combined flavours of honey, tanginess, and zest exploded in her month. She looked down at the crispy fruit incredulously. ' _My god, she didn't kidding about how delicious these apples are. They are awesome!'_

Regina watched her actions with confusion. Then took a step back away from the tree turning towards the house where Henry's form was visible at his bedroom window, looking down at them. A bit surprised, Regina turned back to Emma with a curious expression on her face.

Emma gave her a knowing smile while munching on a mouthful of the sweet fruit.

Regina didn't know what to make of this. Emma was trying to prove to Henry that she didn't have any poison apples. "Why are you doing this?"

The blonde woman just shrugged and answered, "I keep telling you, Regina, but you won't believe me. I'm really not here to be your enemy." Emma didn't expect the other woman to just take her words for it, but it was the truth that she spoke.

Regina looked utterly bewildered. And Emma wanted nothing more at the moment than to envelope the woman in a hug. But she was becoming more proficient in reading the Mayor's body language and knew it was the worst time to test tolerance for breaching her personal space.

Emma continued to take bites into the apple, waiting and bracing herself for the usual spiteful comebacks from the cantankerous woman. But the Mayor remained silent and Emma found the absence of speech and the scrutiny from those deep brown eyes increasingly uncomfortable. She was wrecking her brain to come up with anything to say when Regina turned her back on Emma and slowly walked back up to the house without another word.

She didn't see how Emma's shoulder slump and her face crestfallen. Didn't see how the Deputy braved two steps to follow her before letting out a helpless sigh and turned to walk the other way.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Disclaimer: Blah. Blah. Not mine or yours, I think they're ABC's.** _

_**Warnings: This fanfic depicts romantic notions between two adult women. If you don't like that, well, I'm sorry for you.** _

_**Note: (Aug 16, 2012) For those that had previously read up to this chapter, I uploaded a new version today. I kinda wrote myself into a corner with the last version. I hope you'll like the changes I made. And as always, thank you Haku2009 for proof reading!** _

* * *

Emma dragged herself down the stairs from her room late in the morning the next day. Stepping off the last tread at the bottom, she stretched out her stiff body and released a fly catching yawn. Tension from the lack of sleep bothered her eyes. She tried to massage them away as she trudged into the kitchen and opened the fridge. As always, it was fully stocked thanks to Mary Margaret. Her roommate seemed relentless when it comes to making sure Emma ate properly, an area of self-care the blonde deputy was quite negligent about. Without doubt she appreciated the school teacher's intention, but at the moment she was so tired she had no motivation to even crack open an egg. So she just pulled out the carton of milk and decided a bowl of simple cereal will suffice.

Skipping over the disgusting bran flakes and shredded wheat Emma opted for the brightly colored box of fruit loops. The blonde could imagine the disapproving look on Mary Margaret's face if she was around.

_'She's such a mom,'_  Emma snickered at the thought. Then she remembered what Henry said about Mary Margaret being Snow White and therefore was her mother in fairy tale land. She shook her head to rid of that silly notion. The lack of sleep was doing funny things with her mind.

As she spooned the sugary cereal into her mouth, Emma's thoughts drifted to the night before. She had no idea why she thought it would be such a bright idea to tell Regina Henry thought her apples were poisonous. In hindsight she realized how hurtful that must have sounded for Regina. All Emma wanted do was to somehow prove to the woman she was just trying to help dispel Henry's beliefs by eating the apple.

But by the way Regina reacted, or lack of reaction to it, she wasn't so sure anymore if she did the right thing.

A knock on the door brought her out of her thoughts. Quickly wiping off the bit of milk that had dripped down her chin she hopped off the stool and went to answer the door. Emma cracked the door opened peeking out into the hall, then immediately swung it open fully when she realized it was none other than the Mayor herself.

"Regina?" The dark-haired woman's unexpected visit set off alarms in Emma's head. "What—Is it Henry? Is he okay?" she asked in a panic.

Regina struggled to maintain her composure as she registered Emma's state of dress. Or lack thereof. The blonde didn't answered the door in her just underwear this time, but Regina thought she might as well did in that snug fitting tank top and short shorts. Already she could feel her annoyance simmering just below the surface as the mere sight of the deputy threatened to distract her from the purpose of her visit.

Clearing her throat, Regina made a conscious effort to keep her eyes leveled at Emma's face. "He's fine. I dropped him off at school this morning," she answered coolly, and then pushed past the blonde and into the apartment without waiting for an invitation.

"Please, come on in," Emma mumbled under the breath closing the door behind her.

She walked around her guest and climbed back onto her seat at the kitchen island to resume her breakfast, leaving Regina standing next to the dining table as the brunette took in the apartment's interior with critical eyes. The Mayor's unannounced visit unnerved her and she was thankful for the bowl and spoon in her hands to keep them from fidgeting.

Stepping into the apartment Regina was immediately enveloped by a thick, warm heat. She shifted uncomfortably in her coat making an effort to appear impervious by the temperature, all the while glaring at Emma who must have cranked up the heat to accommodate her scandalous attire. Regina lasted another minute more before she had to pull off her coat and drape it over one of the dining chairs. Neatly folding her hands in front of her, she turned her attention back to the blonde. Her eyes narrowed when she noticed Emma's cereal choice, one of Henry's favorites, reminding her yet again the irrefutable connection the woman have with her son.

"Henry wants to see you," she said breaking the silence.

Emma raised an eyebrow at the statement. "Yeah? And are you saying you are gonna let me?"

"I might consider it," Regina answered, pleased to see the hope on the blonde's face. She was correct to assume Emma's affection for Henry would make an excellent bargaining chip. "But first I want some answers from you."

"Okay..." Emma agreed warily. She didn't like the sound of this.

It was obvious that her chances of seeing Henry were dependent on how she answers the Mayor and she hoped she'd be able to provide the correct ones. It was hard to say when it comes to the capricious woman.

"Last night," Regina began, "you ate an apple from my tree with Henry watching. Knowing what his opinion is around the apples that could have easily damage the bond you have with him."

Emma shrugged. "Yeah, I know."

"Why did you do it then?" Regina asked.

"Remember I said I would try to help give him a reality check? I was just doing that," Emma replied frankly.

"What's in it for you?"

"Uh… Nothing." Emma did not like the accusatory tone the mayor was taking. "What are you trying to imply?"

"Don't play games with me," Regina scoffed and let out a mirthless laughter. "If I didn't know better I would have thought you actually give a damn about me."

"And why is that so hard to believe, Regina?" Emma was growing frustrated. "Why can't you accept that I truly have no intention to be your enemy?"

Regina's expression remained unconvinced. "What else could you possibly intend to be then? What are you really trying to do, Ms. Swan?"

"Geez! I'm not trying to do anything but be a..." Emma caught herself before uttering the word  _friend_. It was too presumptuous, she supposed with some sadness. She sighed, running her hand through her hair. "Look, I can't explain why, but I do care."

"No, you don't," Regina refuted, looking away quickly. "You can't." No matter how appealing it may be to believe Emma's words, she couldn't risk allowing herself to consider the possibility of it because, well, it's just not possible. Why would Emma Swan be any different?

Regina turned back to Emma with a hardened look. "I'm going to give you one more chance to tell me what I want to know. Why are you so set on ripping Henry away from me after abandoning him all these years ago? Did someone put you up to this? Who do you work for?" she demanded, losing what little patience she had left.

It took a moment for Emma to register everything that Regina had just said. "Holy crap, woman. Why are you so paranoid? Maybe you should consider logging some session time with Archie-"

"Don't test me!" Regina snarled. "There's nothing wrong with me. Everything was fine until YOU showed up!"

Crossing her arms over her chest, Emma returned the mayor's glare. She did not appreciate being blamed for no good reasons. "Wow, funny how everyone else in town has no problem with my staying. Have you ever thought of why that is? Maybe, Madame Mayor, the problem isn't me but YOU!"

For a moment, Regina looked as if she was about to blow her top. Taking a deep breath, she composed herself and contained her sudden desire to physically lash out at Emma. It would have been quite satisfying, Regina presumed, to land a fist on that smug expression the blonde was sporting. "Well, you have certainly made my making a decision easy. As long as I'm around, don't even THINK about seeing or talking to Henry."

Blue eyes grew wide at the unreasonable restriction. "Whoa, now wait a minute... Henry is my-"

"Henry is MY son," Regina reiterated firmly. "He will never be yours. You knew right from the start he is much better off without you. Just look at where you gave birth to him to start." She then made sure she was looking straight into Emma's eyes and said, "In jail no less!"

Emma's blood ran cold as she was reminded of her biggest regret in life, bringing forth all the guilt and heartache with it. She didn't even bother to ask how Regina knew. It wouldn't surprise her that the woman got a complete background check on her. But to have the information used against her in this manner?

"I think you should leave now, Madame Mayor," she said as calmly as she could.

"Excuse me?"

Emma walked over to the door and opened it. "I think you should step through this door and vacate this apartment immediately. Is that clear enough for you?"

Regina had never seen Emma's take on such a hardened expression before. For a second there she wondered if she had taken it too far. Her concern was short lived as she realized the blonde had just ordered her to leave. And Regina takes no orders from anyone.

She lifted her chin in an indignant tilt. "I will leave when I'm good and ready to."

"Either you walk out yourself or I'm going to get my cuffs and slap them on you. Then I'd drag you down to the station and charge you for trespassing."

Regina narrowed her eyes. "You wouldn't..."

"Oh I would," Emma assured. "Even if it means getting my ass fired, I would."

When Regina refused to move, Emma shook her head and turned to the chest of drawers next the door where she kept the handcuffs. "Fine, you asked for it."

"How dare you-" Regina stepped towards the blonde and before she finished her sentence, Emma used her forward momentum and gave her a shove, pushing her through the door. Her coat came flying at her next and then the door was slammed in her face. Before Regina could process what had occurred she found herself standing in the empty hallway and staring at the peeling paint of the door.

_'What the hell just happened?'_  Clutching her coat in her hand, Regina dumbfoundedly blinked at the door. Then it hit her.  _'She threw me out. She fucking threw me out of the apartment!'_

To say Regina was livid would be an understatement. She was, a time ago, the queen of vast lands. Now, the mayor of a town. She had everyone under her thumb and this woman that dropped into her life out of nowhere threw her out into the hall?

The rage from being so outrageously defied rumbled within her. She could feel the palms of her hands firing up as her power coursed through her veins, begging for release.

_'I'll kill her!'_

With a snarl she tore her coat apart like it was paper. The pieces burst into flames and disintegrated in her hands. Then a quick wave of her hand she disengaged the dead bolt and unceremoniously flung the door open.

Emma spun around at the abrupt reappearance of the mayor, stunned as Regina made a beeline for her. It all happened so quickly. Emma only had seconds to register the wild expression on the brunette's face and briefly noted the strange blue sparks in her peripheral vision before Regina reached her and grabbed her by each side of her face unexpectedly.

_'What the hell...?!'_ As soon as Regina's hands made contact with Emma's skin, she felt her power drained violently out of her.  _'How...?'_

She held back a sob as she found suddenly herself in a completely helpless state. Why was it that all her best laid plans never turn out the way she wanted when it comes to this woman? Emma had already proven to be a continual threat to her role as a mother. She held absolutely no regards for her authority as the town's mayor. Now even with her last resort to using magic was rendered useless.

Regina searched the face she held in her hand, wondering how this woman able to practically turn her life upside down so effortlessly.  _'Who in the God's name are you?'_ she screamed in her head. Strength escaped her and her legs started to give out under her.

Emma watched Regina's expression transform from an animalistic fury to utter confusion. Witnessing yet another rare moment of raw vulnerability in the impeccable woman, Emma couldn't help but let her guard down again. Their heated argument a few moments ago forgotten while she caught the other woman before she collapsed.

"Whoa! I got you."

_'Do you?'_  Regina continued to search Emma's soft blue eyes as she held the blonde's face in her hands. That look. That same one on that at the mines. The one with the furrowed eyebrows, concern filled gaze, and that awkward half-smile that made Regina want stop fighting and believe in her.

_'Can you truly be trusted?'_  Lost and unhinged, Regina was unable to answer her own question. Desperately needing something to anchor her, she drew Emma closer.

Sensing the desperation from the way the brunette was hanging on to her, Emma allowed herself to be pulled into the kiss. It started off soft, almost tentative, but quickly deepened and became demanding. It was as though Regina was searching for something. Whatever it was, Emma found herself wanting to be the one to give it to Regina. She wanted the Mayor to want her, to need her. Because then, maybe, Regina wouldn't ask her to leave. She will finally belong somewhere, she thought wistfully.

A moan escaped Regina before she could stop it as she got caught up in the kiss. The blonde was doing wonderful things with her mouth. She had been afraid of this, knowing how easily she could get lost in Emma. But any intention to stop and pull away disappeared when she felt Emma's arm tightened around her waist, and she responded by circling her arms around the other woman's neck pulling herself even closer. The firm and sure movements of Emma's lips against her own was oddly comforting and assuring. How ironic, she thought in her head, that the woman that robbed her of her strength just a short moment ago was feeding it right back to her.

With a sense of equilibrium seeping back into her system, Regina's clutch on Emma became less like a drowning woman grasping at straws. Instead, she prolonged the closeness simply because she wanted to. She couldn't remember the last time she was kissed with as much sincerity and fervor. A small voice in her head was yelling at her that this is a terrible idea and she will regret this, but it was easily overpowered by the need her body was feeling. Crossing the line she fought so hard to keep was all kinds of wrong, she knew. But it just felt so right at the same time.

Finally the need for oxygen broke the two women apart. Regina rested her forehead against Emma's, trying to slow her breathing and heart rate down. A million conflicting thoughts raced through her brain and Regina was having difficulty focusing her mind while being this close to Emma. She needed space.

Emma felt Regina stiffened in her arms. The Mayor's body, which seconds ago fitted against hers so perfectly, was now rigid and awkward for Emma to maintain their embrace. With a sinking feeling she let her arms drop, allowing Regina to break away from her touch. Hopeful blue eyes searched desperately in bleak brown ones for a way back pass the wall that once again was raised between them.

Regina broke eye contact first, unable to bear the weight of the deputy's probing gaze. A second longer and she would have given up any further effort to resist Emma's advances. The blonde seemed to have an uncanny ability to tear down her walls faster than she could put them back up. Hiding signs of her discomfort by casually straightening the cuffs of her shirt, Regina worked her jaw trying to find words to explain her lost of control moments ago. Her brows furrowed when she couldn't come up with an explanation. Then she reminded herself she also wasn't obligated to provide one. And of all people, especially not Emma Swan. So she simply turned on her heels to leave.

"Wait." Emma halted the Mayor. "So this is it? You're just gonna leave?" she asked, silently adding  _'after a kiss like that?'_  Her body was still buzzing after it and her irritation rose as Regina stare back at her blankly.

"It's what you wanted, wasn't it? You did literally toss me out the door."

Emma was incredulous. "And then you barged your way back in and kissed me!"

"Merely a lapse in my judgment," Regina replied off-handedly. "It meant nothing."

"You're lying," Emma retorted, watching the brunette's face carefully. And not surprising an impeccable dark eyebrow raised in response to the statement.

Regina scoffed. "Am I?"

Quickly stepping into Regina's space, the unmistakably hitch of a breath was all Emma needed for her case. "Yep. Madame Mayor. I'd say you are."

Regina's eyes narrowed dangerously at the blonde's smugness, silently chastising her own traitorous body for giving her away. Feeling cornered, Regina was about to let loose another tirade of cutting words to fight her way out of the spot she was in, only to be stopped by a warm hand sliding up behind her neck tugging her forward and Emma's lips were on hers again.

Regina kissed Emma back without a thought. Her brain seemed to have developed a tendency to short-circuit whenever Emma touches her, letting her body to completely override her rational mind. Her skin tingled and buzzed when the blonde's roaming hands boldly slipped under her shirt.

Then a hand grazed the side of her breast. The touch sent a jolt straight down between her legs. Gasping, Regina pushed away from Emma.

"Stop fighting this," Emma murmured, already leaning her head towards Regina's again.

"No." Turning her face away quickly and evading Emma's lips, Regina pushed again and held the deputy at arm's length. She winced inwardly as her protest sounded feeble even to her own ears. She closed her eyes for a moment to recollect her resolve. Drawing in a breath, she untangled herself from Emma. "You're wrong." She stepped away and headed towards the door. "This isn't what I want. All I want is to _not_  lose Henry and nothing else."

"Regina," Emma called out, stopping the Mayor with her hand on the doorknob. She looked longingly at the brunette who's once again pulling away from her. Regina's stubborn refusal to acknowledge the attraction they have for each other left her a little broken hearted. But Emma wasn't about to give up yet. Whether Regina likes it or not, there is a link between them in the form of their son. "I don't want you to lose Henry too. But the fact is you  _are_." She watched as Regina's back stiffened. "Let me help you, Regina. C'mon… just take a chance on me."

Was Emma asking her to take a chance on whatever it was developing between them? Or to take a chance on trusting the blonde to not take Henry away from her? Regina wasn't sure which one Emma meant. Maybe she meant both, Regina considered. She was torn by Emma's words. Her head was telling her not to take the risks. But her heart, that damn trouble-causing thing, was telling her otherwise. Her grip on the door knob tightened the whites of her knuckle showing. She hated what she was feeling, not able to make a decision. She needed time to reassess the situation, preferably without distractions in the form of an alluring deputy or a sulking 10-year-old.

_'God, I hope I'm not making a mistake.'_

Regina took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. "You can pick Henry up from school today and take him to dinner." Then she was out the door before Emma actually had a chance to answer.

Alone in the apartment again, Emma stared at the closed door while her lips slowly pulled into a smile.

* * *

Navigating through the herd of children making their way off the school yard, Emma eventually fell into step with one boy in particular. She had spotted him immediately a few minutes prior when the school released them and took in his demeanor. He was positively moping, dragging his feet with his head down as he shuffled towards the street. He didn't even notice her until she playfully bumped him with her hips.

"Hey, kid." She looked down at him with a bright smile.

Henry blinked once. Then twice. Finally his face split into a huge grin as Emma's physical presence registered. "Emma!" He threw his arms around her.

Emma laughed at his enthusiasm. "Whoa, easy there." Taking his shoulders she guided up towards her yellow beetle.

"What are you going here?" He looked up at her, and then nervously scanned their surroundings. "My Mom will be here any minute!"

"Relax, champ." Emma patted him on the cheek. "Your Mom and I reached some sort of… uh… understanding."

Henry wasn't entirely convinced. "So… she just simply decided to let you see me?"

"Yup. Pretty much." Emma shrugged, deciding not to tell Henry about her morning with Regina in details. She worried he wouldn't understand the complexity of what was going on between her and his mom. Hell, even Emma herself couldn't figure out the half of it. "Look, don't worry about it. Okay?"

Henry pursed his lips. "Okay," he agreed reluctantly.

"What's that?" Emma pointed to his hand.

"Huh?" Henry looked down at the rolled up paper in his grasp and blushed. "Um… nothing."

"C'mon, what is it?" She nudged him.

"Well…" He sighed. "You know how I was away from school for a week. Today when I got back, Ava gave me this painting she did. Kinda like a welcome back present." Henry felt his cheeks burn up with embarrassment.

Emma couldn't keep the grin off face at the cuteness the boy was displaying. "Aw… how sweet! Hey isn't Ava the girl you thought was Gretel?"

"Yes." Henry fixed the blonde with a serious look. "She really IS Gretel. She just doesn't-"

"Remember," Emma completed the sentence. "I know, Henry." She fought the urge to roll her eyes.

Henry caught the undertone of Emma's voice and dropped his head dejectedly. "You really don't believe me, huh?"

"Henry…" She scratched her head thinking of a way to talk to the boy without coming across as totally writing off his robust imagination. "I believe you really believe in this fairytale business. It's fine, but sometimes I really think you're going a bit too far with talks about your Mom being the evil queen-"

"She tried to kill me."

Emma's steps stilled, completely shocked by what the boy had just said. Grasping him by the arms, she kneeled down to his eye level. "What," she hissed, "in the world are you talking about?"

"The car accident. It wasn't an accident. She tried to kill me," Henry repeated. He glared at the blonde, angry and disappointed that she did not believe him.

"Oh my god." This is far worse than Emma could have ever imagined. "Henry, this is ridiculous. Your Mom would NOT hurt you."

Henry looked about to burst in to tears. He stomped his foot with frustration. "You weren't in the car! She had blue sparks coming out of her hands and then we were hit! I swear it's true!"

Emma pinched the bridge of her nose. "Henry," she started slowly and calmly, "me and Graham went through the scene and there really was nothing that indicated the crash was anything other than Leroy driving into you guys while drunk as a skunk. You were hit on the head pretty hard during the accident," she reminded him. "Maybe your mind was playing tricks on you."

"No, it wasn't." Henry shook out of Emma's grasp and went to sit on the curb. "I know what I saw," he muttered.

The boy seemed so fixed on his beliefs, Emma felt like her patience was running on its last leg. Her instinct was to call it quits. And the old Emma, the pre-Storybrooke Emma, would have followed it. But the past few months changed her. She ran out on Henry once and she wasn't about to do it again.

A few moments later, Emma joined him on the curb. "Tell me what happened then, Henry."

Henry turned to her, searching her face in a fashion that reminded Emma of his adoptive mother. "It was raining that night," he began, deciding to trust the blonde. "Mom was driving us home from my appointment with Dr. Hopper. It wasn't anything unusual. But suddenly a car came out of nowhere. I remember the headlights lighting up Mom's face. It was so bright. I could see her face clearly. She looked… mad. She held me down with one hand and blue sparks came out of her other. She must've been controlling the other car 'cause the next thing was it hit us and I don't remember anything else after…"

Emma regarded the boy silently, mentally processing what he had just said to him against the evidence she gathered from the scene. Physical evidence doesn't lie. She had no intention of calling Henry a liar too, but something just wasn't adding up right. "You said you were able to see Regina's face because it was lit by the headlights of the other car." She waited for him to nod. "That would mean, the car was approaching from the right side of the car." Henry thought about her deduction then nodded in agreement. "Henry, when we got there, your mom's car was rear ended." She remarked with her brows furrowed.

Henry mirrored her confused expression. "Maybe… maybe her magic didn't work properly," he attempted to explain the inconsistency.

"Or maybe she was trying to save you," Emma suggested instead, and then shrugged her shoulders at the preposterous look Henry was giving her. "I mean, she was mumbling about not being able to keep you safe or something that night at the hospital."

Henry shook his head, seemingly shocked at this other angle of view that was presented to him. "That's not possible," his voice trailed off as a small seed of doubt was planted in his mind.

Emma regarded the boy with a heavy heart, saddened by his inability to see how much his adoptive mother cares for him. Scratching her head, she was at lost with what else she could do for him. Then she suddenly remembered something. She dug into the inside pocket of her leather jacket.

"Look." She nudged Henry, bringing his attention to the photograph she now held in her hand.

"How did you get this?" He asked, taking the photo from the blonde woman.

"Found it in your Mom's study that time I was inside your house. I kept it because I never had a photo of you," Emma explained. She watched him as he quietly took in her words and the scene captured in the photograph. "Henry, I hated that I gave you up pretty much as soon as you were born and I missed out on a lot while you were growing up. I didn't have a lot of options back then. Putting you up for adoption was the toughest decision I ever had to make in my life. And it was only recently that I stopped wondering if I made a mistake giving you up. Do you know why?" When Henry shook his head no, she continued, "Because I saw firsthand how Regina was able to provide for you in ways I would never be able to. And most important of all, she loves you. Look at the both of you." She jerked her chin at the photo. "Check out those smiles. That ain't fake, kid." Henry chewed on his lips as he mulled over her words, giving her doubtful glances. And since he wasn't looking at her as if she was out of her mind, she pushed on, "Seriously, growing up you don't know how many times I wished the next foster family I get dumped to would finally be the one that that loves me. That wants me and keeps me. I never got my wish, Henry. Don't you see how lucky you are?"

Henry knitted brows together and considered the question. "How come I don't feel it then?"

"So you're telling me, that when you look at that photo you feel nothing?" Emma asked.

Henry's eyes fell back onto the photo in his hands. "Well..." He was unable recall when the photo was taken. For all he knows, Regina could have doctored the photo. But despite his reluctance to accept Emma's words, he did feel a strange tug in his chest as he studied the image of himself and Regina. "Maybe just a little... But she's still the Evil Queen!"

"She's also still your mother," Emma countered with a firm tone.

Henry glared back at her. "Why are you taking her side?"

"I'm not taking sides. I'm just calling it as I see it."

"This could be fake!" He shook the photo in her face, which she annoyingly swatted away.

"So can your book!" she shot back.

_'God, he is so stubborn! Wonder who he got it from, me or Regina. Nature or nurture,'_ Emma mused as they tried to out stare each other.

The standoff lasted until Emma eventually conceded to the fact that she was, after all, the adult between the two of them. She sighed and softened her expression, attempting another tactic to deal with the situation. "C'mon kid, you have to admit that your fairy tale theory is pretty farfetched for any sane person to comprehend. But I stayed and I'm making an effort to make sense of it because you wanted me to. So don't you think it would be fair that you at least take my theory about your Mom into some consideration?" Despite him crossing his arms in a show of defiance, she knew she had him as the angry fire in his eyes dissipated and he scowled at her instead like the child that he is. On that note, she added, "And evil or not, she's letting me see you because it makes you happy. She doesn't have to, you know."

"Fine," he finally mumbled under his breath with reluctance. He didn't understand why Emma was so intent on putting in good words for his mom. Whatever she was planning, he hoped it wouldn't compromise Operation Cobra.

Take small victories one at a time, Emma told herself. She could only hope her message got through to him and that he just needed a bit of time to process their discussion. She ruffled his hair affectionately.

With the wind picking up as it got later in the day, Emma pulled her jacket tighter around her and stood up. "C'mon, kid." She extended a hand down to him wanting to get out of the cold. "Apparently I have you for the rest of the day. Your Mom said she's working late at the office tonight. Let's hang out at the apartment for a while. We'll see if Mary Margaret wants to join us for dinner later."


	7. Chapter 7

_**Disclaimer: Blah. Blah. Not mine or yours, I think they're ABC's.** _

_**Warnings: This fanfic depicts romantic notions between two adult women. If you don't like that, well, I'm sorry for you.** _

_**Note: Sorry for the extremely late update. I seemed to have hit a major block a few months back. I'm trying hard to get back on track, but life is really being a hard-ass and it's difficult finding time to write. I have all these ideas still playing in my head so fast before I can find a chance to put them down in words. Anyway, those that have been following the fic may want to re-read Chapter 6. I made changes.** _

_**And as always, thank you Haku2009 for proof reading!** _

* * *

The yellow VW beetle screeched to a halt in front of the Mayor's house with its three occupants laughing hysterically.

Emma wheezed and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Oh my god, stop!" She avoided looking at the boy sitting next to her and at the rearview mirror reflecting her roommate's face. If she catches their expressions she would burst out laughing again. Catching her breath, she groaned and caressed her stomach. "Aw crap, I think I'm about to burst!"

Mary Margaret leaned forward between the two front seats. "No one told you to eat the entire pizza."

"Actually, that's not true. You both did," the blonde deadpanned.

"Technically, we only commented that you couldn't eat all 8 slices," the school teacher tsked.

Henry chuckled. "Yeah, you're the one that made a bet that you could."

"That's cause you guys won't believe me when I said I won an eating contest 6 years ago. I'm serious, 28 waffles in 12 minutes. Then I bought this car with the $4000 cash prize! But whatever, you both now owe me car washes for as long as I own this baby." Emma stroked the vehicle's dashboard affectionately.

"That means we'll probably only have to wash it once or twice, Henry," Mary Margaret commented out of the corner of her mouth.

Insulted on her beloved car's behalf, Emma squawked, "Hey, that's rude!"

Henry giggled at the banter. "You know what's rude?" He paused briefly before letting out a loud and obnoxiously long belch.

"Ew!" Emma screeched and frantically roll down the window, sending them all into another laughing fit.

Eventually they settled down, taking a moment to catch their breathes. Emma rolled her head to one side and regarded Henry who had a big smile on his face the entire night. "You had a good time, kid?"

Henry nodded affirmatively. "Can we do this again soon?"

"I can try talking to your Mom about it," Emma answered. She reached for the latch on the door. "C'mon, let's get you home first." She got out of the car and scooted around it, waiting for Henry to join her on the sidewalk as he bid goodnight to Mary Margaret. Putting a hand around the boy's shoulder when he came even with her, she walked him up to the house. "Henry." Emma waited until he looked up at her. "Please don't mention any of the things we talked about this afternoon to your Mom."

Henry looked at her with quiet consideration, contemplating her request. "Okay," he agreed, putting complete faith in the blonde woman. "I trust you."

"Good," Emma replied, giving him a small pat on the back.

They were a few feet from the door when it opened and the Mayor stepped out. Emma's heart skipped a beat at the sight of the woman and her lips automatically pulled into a smile.

"Hey," she greeted cheerfully.

Regina had to consciously suppress the urge to mirror the goofy grin that was beaming at her. She hitched her hands on her hip and regarded the blonde sternly. "Deputy Swan, I said you can take him out for dinner. Not keep him out until pass his bedtime."

Despite the seemingly terse tone, Emma recognized a hint of softness in the deep brown eyes that wasn't there before. She looked down at her watch. "It's only 9:30. He told me he doesn't need to go to bed until 10." She shifted her eyes to the boy, who now had his head down and was suddenly finding the pavement extremely interesting, poking at a nonexistent spot with the toe of his shoe.

_'That little sneak…'_

"Henry, when is your bedtime supposedly?"

"9 o'clock," he replied with a small voice and his head hung low.

Regina gave a disapproving shake of her head at her son's dishonesty. "Henry, say goodnight and go get yourself ready for bed," she ordered, moving aside in the doorway to let him pass.

"Good night, Emma," Henry muttered with a pout before running into the house.

After he disappeared up the stairs, Emma stepped up to the door. "Regina, I'm sorry about bringing him home late. He just-"

"He just wanted to spend more time with you. I know," Regina lamented, her voice strained as she tried to swallow down the disappointment she was feeling.

Blue eyes regarded her with a hint of surprise. Emma must have expected more of a confrontation from her, thought Regina. But the Mayor was tired of putting up a fight.

A day sitting alone under her apple tree and two bottles of apple cider later, Regina came to accept that Emma wasn't the only culprit for the emotional mess she was in. The bigger culprit was actually her own heart, waging an internal war against her mind. Unfortunately for her mind, rationality had never won a battle with her emotions. It was futile to try to deny what her heart wants. It always had been, and always will be, the driving force of all that she does.

Despite having made some sense of her intense feelings for Emma, it didn't hurt any less for Regina to see her son rather spend time with the blonde woman instead of her. After a lifetime of conditioning that taught her she only had her own self to rely on for any sense of comfort, Regina instinctively wrapped her arms around herself.

It was pretty obvious to Emma that letting her into Henry's life wasn't easy for the Mayor, but she didn't know what consoling words she could offer. It wasn't like she could just say  _'sorry that your kid wanted to spend time with me instead of you'_. So she reached out and laid a gentle hand on the Regina's arm giving it a reassuring squeeze along with a sympathetic smile on her face.

Regina returned the smile reluctantly, knowing this was something she had to get used to eventually if she were to accept Emma as a constant presence in their lives. "I just need some more time to adjust to this. I hope you had a good time with him tonight."

"Yeah, I did." Emma beamed. "Thank you."

"How was the pizza?"

Emma's brows furrowed in confusion. "How'd you know I had pizza?"

Regina stepped towards the other woman, reached out a hand and lightly pulled at a spot on Emma's shirt. "Well, if this red stain that looks auspiciously like a slice of pepperoni was any indication..."

Looking down at the spot the mayor's finger was grazing, Emma chuckled and replied boastfully, "Heh, I ate the entire thing. All 8 slices."

"That is disgusting," Regina quipped, not sharing the blonde's enthusiasm in the excessive consumption of junk food.

Emma shrugged. "I was challenged. I couldn't back down."

Crossing her arms, Regina let out a sigh. "Am I going to regret asking what Henry ended up eating?"

"Oh my god, that kid can eat! He ate two burgers, all the fries AND a large milkshake." Emma's eyes sparkled with pride and laughed, but stopped when she saw the unimpressed look Regina was giving her. "Er... and he also ate a salad," Emma lied quickly.

With a raise of a perfectly sculpted eyebrow, the mayor pinned a hard, skeptical look at her.

"Half of my salad,." Emma lied again and Regina's gaze still did not waver.

 _'Damn it!'_  Deflated, Emma dropped her head and relented the truth.

"Fine, he had a few bites of Mary Margaret's salad." Shoving her hands into her jean pockets, the blonde silently chastising herself for being an idiot and probably blew all chances she had to take Henry out again.

As Regina watched the deputy kick at the ground, thoughts of jumping at the opportunity to point out Emma's irresponsible nature never even crossed her mind. Instead, she couldn't help but think how Emma was, well, rather adorable at the moment, adding appeal to her plan of asking the blonde stay a little longer. The idea filled her with a sense of excitement and anticipation. It was strange to feel this way, but not unwelcomed. The Mayor was accustomed to simply demanding what she wanted. But with Emma, it was different. She managed to surprise Regina at every turn doing the unexpected. The woman was a wild card. That in itself, Regina had to admit, was refreshing.

"Miss Swan, would you care to-"

HOOOOONNNNNKKK! HONK! HONK! HONK!

Her invitation was abruptly cut off by the insistent honking of a car's horn. Looking over Emma's shoulders, Regina eyes narrowed at the sight of the person she despises most.  _'Why is she here?'_

She had been so focused on Emma she wasn't aware of Mary Margaret's presence until now. The school teacher was gesturing wildly with her hands inside the little yellow car.

Emma glared incredulously at her roommate for her impeccable timing. She silently mouthed  _'what the hell?'_  to which Mary Margaret paid no heed to and continued waving her hands. Emma closed her eyes and took in a deep breath to contain her annoyance before turning back to Regina.

"Regina?" Emma called tentatively and her heart immediately sank seeing that a stony mask have slipped over the Mayor's face and her dark eyes turned into a hard gleam. The brief, affable moment they shared have obviously ended. "Um, maybe I should get going," Emma said regrettably after Mary Margaret honked again.

Regina curtly nodded. "Of course. Good night, Miss Swan."

"Night, Regina." Emma turned towards her car. She took two steps before turning around, catching Regina before she closed the door. "Um, were you about ask me something just a minute ago?"

With an overly bright smile that Emma now recognized as forced and superficial, Regina answered, "No. I wasn't. I need to go check on Henry now. So good night again, deputy." She stepped back into the house and closed the door.

Emma let out an exasperated sigh.  _'Is it always going to feel like 1 step forward and 2 steps back with this woman?'_  she thought to herself as she trudged back to her car.

"What the hell was that?" Emma hissed at her roommate as soon as she slid into the driver seat. She started the car and roughly pulled at her seat belt.

"I have to pee," Mary Margaret provided as her reason.

"You couldn't wait a few more minutes?" Emma snapped, pulling the car away from the curb with a bit more force than needed.

Mary Margaret fumbled with her seat belt buckle as the little car swayed wildly. "Don't tell me I could have waited. I'm pretty sure you have forgotten I was even here in the car from the way you were making goo-goo eyes with the Mayor."

"We weren't making goo-goo eyes!" Emma refuted.  _'Were we?'_

Mary Margaret folded her arms over her chest and have the blonde a knowing look. "Oh, I beg to differ, my friend. And what's with all that touching between you two."

"Nothing! We just have agreed to stop fighting," Emma defensively said. Then she added, "For Henry's sake, of course."

"Uh huh." The school teacher was not convinced. "Emma, I can't even begin to understand why you're so infatuated with her. You're playing with fire. I just hope you know what you're getting yourself into. That woman is a heartless, manipulative bully."

Emma's jaw clenched. She was tired of all the negative opinions about Regina. "You're wrong about her. You all are. You just don't know her like I do."

"Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds?" Mary Margaret raised an eyebrow at the blonde's claim. "How could you possibly know her better than any of us when you've only been in town for a little over a month?"

Emma slammed on the brakes. Seething, she turn to her roommate, "You know, I don't belittle your feelings for David. And might I add that you only knew him just as long as I have known Regina. So if you're really my friend, don't belittle my feelings for her."

Holding Emma's intense gaze Mary Margaret was struck by the mix of hurt and disappointment in those fiery blue eyes. She opened her mouth to say something but found she was without words. Speechless, the school teacher examined the parallels between what she feels for David and what Emma feels for Regina.

 _'My god, I'm a hypocrite and a horrible friend!'_  she chastised herself. Of all people she should be the first to understand what it is like to fall for someone they shouldn't have.

Mary Margaret's shoulders dropped in shame. "You're right. I'm so sorry, Emma," she said with regret. "I just don't want you to get hurt."

"And I most likely will," Emma admitted and sighed. "I need to know that when I do, there's a friendly shoulder I can cry on."

Upon hearing the small sad voice those words were said, Mary Margaret quickly reached over and wrapped her arms around the blonde in a hug. "Oh, Emma! I'll always be here for you. Don't you ever doubt that."

Emma smiled into her friend's coat that have engulfed her. "Thanks."

"It's what friends do." Mary Margaret gave Emma a quick squeeze with her arms. The idea of Emma with Regina still disturbed her. The Mayor is a dangerous woman and Mary Margaret couldn't shake off this need to protect Emma. She pulled back and looked at her friend with determination. "And don't worry, next time I'll remember to pee before we leave the diner.

Emma's eyebrows raised in concern.  _'Next time?'_

* * *

Regina stood quietly in the empty foyer after closing the door. Holding a hand to her forehead, she took a moment to reign the sudden burst of irritation. She couldn't decide what made her angry more. The unexpected presence of Mary Margaret? The fact that Emma brought the school teacher along? Emma may think she was being subtle but her intention was clear. Regina's chest involuntarily clinched as she acknowledged the poorly disguised rejection.

Glancing into the adjacent sitting room, her eyes landed on the bottle of wine and two glasses she had set out earlier. Maybe Regina simply irritated at the humiliation she almost set herself up for.

She felt like a complete fool.

Perhaps she let her guard down too soon and too fast. It was dangerous, Regina knew. Getting involved with Emma means disruption to the carefully schemed routines she had created. She half-heartedly almost convinced herself to forget all this nonsense, to fight off the effect Emma Swan inflicted on her. But Regina wasn't entirely ready to give up and stop whatever was happening between them. Not when what Emma made her feel was something she had searched so long for.

* * *

Henry's room was dark when Regina pushed the door open and peeked inside. He was already in bed, laying on his side facing away from her. She stepped into the room, clicking on his bedside lamp before taking a seat on the edge of his bed.

"I know you're still awake, Henry." Regina spoke. "You don't think I can't tell by now?"

Henry continued to feign his sleep until he realized his mother wasn't about to leave him alone. He sighed and rolled over to face the music, so to speak, "Am I grounded?"

"For?"

"For lying about my bedtime," he answered, pushing out his lower lip into a pout. It seemed like such a great idea at the time. A little fib for a bit more time with his birth mother. Now he realized he had given Regina the perfect reason to keep him from seeing Emma. "I just wanted to spend more time with Emma."

"I know, Henry," Regina said resignedly while fighting down the tightness in her chest. With all the changes happening in her town, she wistfully wondered why it wouldn't include her son having a change of heart about her.

"I should ground you for lying, shouldn't I?" she asked. Henry looked back at her with apprehension. "But what good would it do? You'd just resent me more and make up more lies if you think it would mean seeing Emma." She continued when he didn't refute that accusation, "I don't like you lying, Henry. I thought I taught you better than that. Next time you want to spend more time with Emma, you be honest and ask me so. Got it?"

It was not the answer Henry expected, evidenced by the rounding of his eyes. Nonetheless, he wasn't about to pass up the permission Regina was freely giving him to see Emma. "Got it." He quickly nodded.

He knew he shouldn't question his mom's sudden relinquishing of her control, but curiosity got the better of him. "I thought you hated Emma."

"I thought I did too," Regina admitted. She wasn't sure how to further explain to Henry how she exactly felt towards Emma. "I thought she was going to take you away from me. And I'm well aware of your desire for her to do so. I couldn't sit back and allow that. I just can't. You are all I have, Henry."

Henry's eyes visibly soften at her admission, giving Regina a pause at the sight. It had been so long since he looked at her with anything but anger and contempt.

 _'How had things all gone so wrong between her and her son?'_  she asked herself for the umpteenth time.

From the moment Mr. Gold placed Henry, just 3-weeks old at the time, in her arms she had loved him. And Henry loved her too. For the first several years of his young life Regina was all that mattered in his whole world. She remembered thinking she finally found the happiness that had eluded her all her life. Regina realized it would only be a matter of time before he starts to question the strange phenomenons in town. Despite what she had hoped, being told he was special, different from everyone else eventually wasn't enough. The love she had for him wasn't enough. Before she knew it, her words no longer hold any value against the words written in that godforsaken book Mary Margaret gave him.

"It's late. Go to sleep now." She leaned over and kissed him on the top of his head.

Scowling and squirming, Henry put up more of a fight than usual against the show of affection and pushed Regina away. He didn't like the feeling swirling inside of him, pulling at his heart strings. He needed to stay strong and resist the Evil Queen's charm and trickery. The lost citizens of Fairytale Land were counting on him to make sure the savior stay on track with the mission to lift the curse.

He tossed in his bed, turning on his side with his back to his mother. He felt her fingers lightly tread through his hair and lingered for a moment. Wrapping himself tighter with his blanket, Henry tried to ward off the effect of the tender touch. He scrunched his eyes shut and waited for Regina to leave the room. A sigh, barely audible, reached his ears. Then the soft touch on his head was lifted, followed by shuffling of feet across the carpet and finally the click of his bedroom door closing.

Henry held his breath seconds more before relaxing and rolling onto his back. Looking at his bedroom door pensively, he worried his bottom lip between this teeth wondering if his mother had casted a spell on him. Why else would he actually be missing, even if it was only a little bit, Regina now that she was no longer in his room?


	8. Chapter 8

_**Disclaimer: Blah. Blah. Not mine or yours, I think they're ABC's.** _

_**Warnings: This fanfic depicts romantic notions between two adult women. If you don't like that, well, I'm sorry for you.** _

_**Note:** _ _**Hahaha! It's so funny reading the reviews for the last chapter. I don't know who I wanna smack more too between Henry and Mary Margaret. Don't worry though, I see Henry coming around. He's just a stubborn, spoiled brat. Emma will set him straight. Mary Margaret, however, seems steadfast in her resolve to continue to run 'clitorference' on Emma. Thanks for all the reviews~** _

**_I'll apologize in advance if the text messaging/flashbacks/notes in this chapter are difficult to follow... I can only do so much with 's lack of formatting options._ **

_**And as always, thank you Haku2009 for proof reading!** _

* * *

If any of Storybrooke's residents were to take a morning stroll pass the sheriff's station, they would noticed their deputy sitting inside her yellow VW beetle, her head bent over her cell phone with a silly grin on her face.

Emma had just pulled into her parking stall when Regina's text came through her phone. Receiving the message from the mayor was surprising enough; add to that Emma was being asked if she would like to have dinner with Henry again.

Not one to refuse the generous offer to spend time with her son, Emma's fingers flew over the keys typing out her reply.

**8:43am - Sure! I'd love to take him out again tonight!**

Within seconds, her phone pinged again with a message from Regina.

**8:44am - Pick him up from school and bring him back BEFORE his bedtime.**

Before Emma could reply, another message from the mayor was received.

**8:44am - And make sure he eats his vegetables.**

Emma chuckled as she imagines the glower Regina must have directed at the phone while she typed that message out.

**8:46am - I'll do my best.**

**8:48am - Trying isn't going to cut it, Miss Swan. Henry is a growing boy and he needs healthy foods. None of that junk you fed him last night.**

**8:50am – Ya know, technically I can argue that pizza do in fact contain all four food groups.**

**8:51am – Miss Swan, are you going to require adult supervision for this simple task?**

Emma rolled her eyes and grinned. Even in text, Regina could make her taunting tone of voice evident.

**8:50am - Are you offering, Madam Mayor?**

Smiling at the phone, Emma wondered if Regina would play along with the implied invitation to have dinner together. Just the 3 of them. Henry, Regina and herself.

Five minutes passed by and her phone remained silent without a reply from the Mayor. Emma tapped her fingers on the steering wheel impatiently staring at the phone willing it to ping with an incoming text. By the ten minutes lapse, Emma was wearing a frown on her face.

_'Did I offended her or something?'_

**9:01am - Hey, sorry. That was just a joke. Haha. Don't worry about me being unsupervised. I'm sure Mary Margaret will keep a close eye on me. So relax, Henry will be in good hands.**

Emma let out a big sigh, rereading her last text once more before stuffing the phone into her back pocket. She got out of her car and quickly trotted up to the sheriff station to start her shift that she was already late for.

* * *

Regina put her phone face down on her desk, her message only half composed, when the door to her office openly abruptly and Mr. Gold boldly waltzed in.

"I'm sorry, Mayor Mills. I tried to tell Mr. Gold here he needs an appointment before he can see you," Regina's assistant, Patty, stammered nervously behind the pawnbroker.

Regina waved her blabbing assistant off while narrowing her eyes at her uninvited guest. He casually took a seat at her desk as if he owned the place. "It's alright, Patty. I can spare a few minutes for Mr. Gold here."

Patty meekly nodded and retreated out of the office, closing the door on her way out.

Regina looked at the man sitting across from her, barely containing the annoyance she felt for the arrogant bastard. "I'd appreciate it if you follow protocol and don't give my staff a difficult time."

Mr. Gold feigned a hurt expression. "Protocol? But Madam Mayor after all we've been through, I thought I'd at least rate as a friend. And friends don't need protocol to see each other."

"Let's not pretend, Mr. Gold. We are far from friends," Regina replied dryly.

"Fine." He casually shrugged.

"What do you want this early in the day?"

"I was just going about town, running some errands and thought I would drop by to say hi." His smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "And I heard that council passed the motion you raised to pave over that old mine site."

"It's the most logical thing to do. That place is dangerous."

"Maybe so. But an old site like that must hold a lot of history. I just think it's a shame to just cover it all up with concrete," he said in a knowing tone.

"Your opinion holds no significance to the matter. The council has decided and the construction crew will being work tomorrow." Regina opened a Manila folder and began perusing it, hoping Mr. Gold would take the hint and leave. "Don't bother trying to disrupt the plan. There's nothing you can gain from stopping it."

"Ah! I would love to argue that, but I know it's a lost cause. It's quite all right. If it's meant to be whatever that should be made known will surface on its own time." Mr. Gold grinned evilly.

Regina refrained from the urge to reach across the desk and throttle the man. He must have noticed her restraint on her anger. Satisfied that he had riled the Mayor up as planned, Mr. Gold decided to take his leave.

He was halfway to the door before spinning around again. "Oh, and I was quite disappointed that you didn't return to resume our discussion on ridding a certain deputy in town."

Regina seethed at the mention of the last encounter they had at his shop. "That's because there is nothing else to discuss. I'm not inclined to make any deals with you."

"Or from what I gathered, it's not really the prospect of making a deal with me that's the problem. You seemed to have a change of opinion about Miss Swan. I saw your boy with the deputy last night at the diner. How generous of you to let little Henry spend some quality time with his  _real_  mother."

Regina gripped the arms of her chair to keep herself from launching out of her seat. He was good, knowing all the right spots to needle her at.

"Oh don't be angry, dearie. I have no intention to upset you," Mr. Gold soothed, enjoying himself entirely too much. "In fact, I'm worried for you."

The Mayor scoffed at his unconvincing concern.

Mr. Gold chuckled. "Come on now, I just don't like seeing an old friend being taken advantage of. Especially after seeing the picture perfect family scene between Miss Swan, Henry and Miss Blanchard, it's pretty clear to me what Miss Swan's motives are to make such great effort to get on your good side." Mr. Gold shot the Mayor a knowing look.

"What the hell are you talking about?" no longer hiding her impatience, Regina snarled at the pawnbroker.

Mr. Gold gave the infuriated mayor an amused look. "23 address changes in the 12 years after she got out of the foster system. Her longest fixed address was during the 3 years she was in jail. No asset other than that scrap of metal she calls a car. She has no friends. Maybe acquaintances at best. She's never been in a relationship... Shall I go on? You're no fool, Madam Mayor. I hate to point out the obvious."

"I know what you are implying, Mr. Gold. But your concern is neither wanted nor needed." His words sent an unsettling feeling to the pit of her stomach.

"Very well, then. If you shall ever change your mind and require my assistance on the matter, you know where to find me." He hobbled over to the door. Reaching the door handle, he paused and turned to the Mayor one last time. "Just a few words of advice. Take caution when it comes to dear Miss Swan."

Finally alone in her office, she let out a long breath and released some of the tension that had built up from simply being in the slimy pawnbroker's presence. She picked up her phone, eager to finish the message she was in the midst of composing when Mr. Gold barged in. There was a new message from Emma. Scanning it quickly, her breath caught. Reading the message again nearly caused her to throw the phone across the room.

 _'A joke?'_  She seethed.  _'It was JUST a joke?! What the hell is she trying to play at?'_

Her knuckles were stark white as she clenched the phone in her hand, threatening to crush it. The Mayor was trying to contain her rage, wanting stay level headed so she can somehow rationalize why Emma was setting her up for humiliation. However, it was proving to be difficult with Mr. Gold's cautionary words rattling in her head.

* * *

Emma stopped on her tracks abruptly when she walked into the station, staring at the empty holding cells.

"Where the hell is Leroy?" she demanded.

Graham came out of his office with a coffee mug in his hand. "Mr. Gold came in early this morning and posted his bail."

That got both of Emma's eyebrows raised. "The bail amount was ten grand. Mr. Gold just paid it?" she asked.

"Yup." Graham nodded.

"And you don't think that's weird? I mean, they weren't friends or anything, were they?"

"Not to my knowledge." Graham shrugged. "And a lot of things Mr. Gold does are weird. His favorite reasoning for the things he does is that he's  _'invested in people's futures'_. Whatever that means."

Emma scoffed. "I wonder what kind of  _'future'_  he sees in Leory." She walked over to the kitchenette to pour herself a coffee. "That bastard better show up for court. Otherwise I'm gonna hunt him down like a dog."

Graham watched with a smile on his face as Emma stomped over to the counter to grab a coffee. He had been meaning to talk to her alone, but it was difficult having a prisoner sitting mere feet from them at the office. Now they finally had the station to themselves again.

"How's Henry recovering?" he asked, perched on the edge of the counter top.

"He's fine. Back in school already."

"That's good. I would have gone over to see how he was doing sooner. But I just thought it's kinda awkward for me to be at the house."

"Why's that?" She peered at him

"Well, I ended things with Regina."

"You did?" Emma replied entirely too eagerly. She quickly schooled her tone of voice, "I mean, oh, okay."

Graham felt exceptionally optimistic with Emma's obvious joy at the end of his affair with Regina. "Yeah, I told her I couldn't carry on sleeping with her when all I could think about was someone else."

Emma gave him a sideway glance while she spooned sugar into her coffee but didn't say anything. She had a bad feeling about where this conversation was heading.

Graham continued, "It's weird, you know, that I couldn't remember the last time I was this attracted to someone. I've only known her for a short time, but I just couldn't stop thinking about her. She's beautiful. She's fiery. She makes my heart race every time I see her. It's like I have been waiting for her all my life. You know what I'm talking about?"

"Uh huh," she agreed. It was exactly how she felt towards Regina.

Graham shifted closer to Emma. "You know I'm talking about you, right?"

 _'And I'm thinking of Regina.'_  Emma sighed.

She put her coffee down and turned to the sheriff, hoping he wouldn't take her words too hard. "Graham, I don't-"

Her words were abruptly cut off as Graham, without warning, surged towards her and kissed her on the lips. Repulsed, Emma roughly shoved him away from her.

"What the hell, Graham?" she quipped, wiping her lips with the back of her hand. When the sheriff failed to answer her, instead he just stood dumbfounded, Emma let out an exacerbated groan. "Argh! I can't work like this with you."

Graham vaguely registered Emma grabbing her jacket and storming out of the station. He didn't know what's going on. He was in no capacity stop her as he was bombarded with snippets of what looked like a different lifetime in his head. His breathing began to labor, gripping the counter he steadied himself.

 _'Oh God, I think I'm gonna be sick,'_  he thought as he slid to the ground.

* * *

By late afternoon it was pretty clear Emma wasn't going to receive a text back from Regina, leaving the deputy sulking over the fact while sitting her car waiting for Henry to get off school. She had half the mind to simply march over to the Mayor's office personally and ask her what the problem was this time, but she was certain a confrontation like that would no doubt set back the little (but hard earned) success she had in pursuing the stubborn woman.

For the record, Emma had never been this determined to chase after anyone before and the idea of having a relationship should terrify her. She didn't know why she wanted one so desperately with Regina but that it just felt utterly right. Echoing Graham's earlier words, it was like she had been waiting for this all her life.

Emma picked up her phone again, glaring at it as it continued to mock her with its silence. So focused she was trying to will the device to give her any kind of response she nearly jumped out of her seat when someone suddenly tapped on her window.

"Gah!" She started, then fumbled to regain her grip on the floundering phone. Turning she found Henry's face pressed up against the glass, grinning broadly. "Henry!" she breathed out in relief and motioned him to come around to the passenger side.

"Hey, Emma!" Henry climbed into the car with a smile beaming on his young face. It was a pleasant surprise to find the deputy outside his school. He hadn't expected to see her so soon. "What are you doing here?"

"Your mom said I could have dinner with you again," Emma said off-handedly.

"Two nights in a row?" Henry asked with skepticism. "That's weird."

Emma let out a sigh. She was hoping the boy wouldn't make a big deal out his mother's generous gesture. But it seemed like her patience was going to be tested again today. "Kid, there is nothing weird about a mother being nice to her child. Trust me, there are worst things one could complain about their mothers," She told him, resentment from some of the horrible treatments she received while in foster care surfaced. "You don't know how lu-"

"-lucky I am. Yeah, yeah." Henry rolled his eyes.

"Whoa!" Emma was stunned by his crassness. "Seriously, Henry, you ought to show some gratitude for the life Regina had provided for you."

"My life sucks!" he grounded out between his teeth.

"Yeah? And what part of that privileged life you have sucks?" she retorted, starting to get really annoyed at the boy's preposterous mindset. "Do you mean the part where you have to live in a nice big house? Or that you never had to worry if you'd be tossed out and thrust into another strange family the next day? Or how about the part where you have a mother that made damn sure you want for nothing?"

"No!" Henry slammed his hand down on the car's dashboard, his face reddened with anger and tears started to well up in his eyes. "What sucks is that I never had any friends because they always stay the same age while I keep growing up! That my mom put me in therapy so that everyone thinks I'm crazy when I tried to tell them about it. And she kept lying to me about my adoption even when I found out the truth! I saw the papers in her desk drawer. I'm not stupid and I'm not crazy! You keep saying she loves me, but she doesn't! Why would you lie to someone you love?"

Finally getting a glimpse of what drove Henry's need to escape to and believe in the fantastical ideas of fairy tales and curses, Emma's previous annoyance quickly dissipated and her heart went out to the boy. It was painfully obvious how lonely Henry was. She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, wondering how she ended up having to do the sensitive talk again.

"Henry," she spoke, keeping her tone gentle. "Making friends isn't always easy. Believe me, I know." She gave him a wry look, then raised eyebrow knowingly as she remembered bits of her own lonely childhood. "But you do have friends. You got Ava, Nicolas and Paige. Things are getting better, aren't they?"

He nodded, but the disgruntled expression on his face remained. "Only since you got here to break the curse."

Emma opted out to arguing the business of her being the prophet curse breaker, choosing instead to continue rationalizing Regina's actions that were causing Henry so much grief. "I can't speak for your mom as to why she sends you to Dr. Hopper. My guess would be to just have someone you can talk to. And I know you're really upset over finding out about your adoption and Regina not being forthright with you didn't make things better. But her lying about it doesn't mean she doesn't love you." She paused when he shot her a skeptical look. "Sometimes people lie to the ones they love thinking will save them from being hurt. I think that was what your mom was doing."

"That's stupid," Henry groused.

Emma shrugged. "Yeah, maybe it was a stupid thing to do. People do stupid things when they are scared." She chuckled at the look Henry gave her. "I know. It's hard to imagine your mom being scared of anything. But she's terrified of losing you, Henry."

Henry's thoughts drifted back to the night before when Regina told him he was all she's got, her voice sad and pensive. He remembered how he quickly became alarmed when he felt that tightness in his chest. And now with what Emma had just said…

"Henry, look at me," Emma's voice was firm but gentle. "Can you look me straight in the eyes and tell me if your mom was ever evil to you?"

Henry's brows furrowed in thought, chewing on his bottom lip as he tried to recall any incident to answer Emma's challenge. Much to his dismay, he found he couldn't.

He looked over at Emma and another concern creep up in his mind. If he doesn't need to be protected from the Evil Queen, does that mean Emma no longer have reasons to stay in his life? He couldn't have that. "Even if she hadn't acted evil towards me, I still need you."

Emma smiled, touched by his deep desire to have her in his life. "Don't worry, kid. I'm not that easy to get rid of," she snickered. "Just ask your mom."

Even Henry had to laugh at that. It was true that he had never seen anyone that could stand up to his mom like Emma does.

Seeing that the mood had lightened, she ruffled his hair affectionately and started the car. "Alright, let's get to the market before it gets any later. I gotta pick up a few items since I'm cooking tonight."

Henry's face scrunched up, looking at her skeptically. "You can cook?"

"Of course, I can cook," Emma retorted, slighted by his doubt in her culinary skills. "Sheesh, I had to feed myself somehow living on my own."

"Alrighty then, Master Chef Emma," Henry said teasingly. "What are you making me for dinner?

Blue eyes sparkled with excitement. "Oh, you're gonna love it. It's one of my favorite meals of all time." She grinned at him and pulled the car away from the curb.

* * *

Not wanting to cut it too close to Henry's curfew and risk Regina's wrath, Emma returned Henry home at 8:30pm sharp. Each step she took as she walked Henry up to the house was with anticipation, expecting the Mayor to open the door and meet them halfway up the path like she usually does. But by the time Henry was opening the front door with his own set of keys and still no sight of the brunette, Emma's heart was heavy with disappointment.

 _'How do I miss her only after a day of not seeing her?'_  she wondered.

"G'night, Emma," Henry said from the doorway after stepping inside. He smiled at the blonde ruefully, a little sad that he had to say goodbye again but did after all had another fun evening with her.

She smiled back at him. "Night, kid. See you later." Waiting until he closed the door and heard the click of the lock, she then turned and headed back to get car.

From one of the darkened rooms on the second floor and well hidden within the shadows, Regina watched Emma made her way down the short concrete path. The blonde kept glancing backwards towards the house, eyes fleeting from window to window, making Regina wondered if she was looking for her.

The Mayor pressed a hand over her chest trying to squelch the ache growing in her heart. She really wished she didn't feel this strong longing for the woman. She felt like one of those dimwitted moths that kept flying back towards the flame. Emma's joke this morning, along with Mr. Gold's seemingly words of caution, had flooded her with innate doubts and insecurities. Once again reducing her to the broken woman believing she's forever deemed undeserving of love and unworthy of real affection.

"Mom!" Henry called from downstairs and broke through her thoughts. With one last glance at the blonde who was just about to get into her car, Regina tore herself away from the window to go find her son.

He called out again when she reached the bottom of the stairs. She found him in the kitchen pouring himself a glass of water.

"Henry?"

"Hi, Mom." He took a long swig of the water and then gestures towards the kitchen island. "That's for you."

Following the direction where he was pointing to, Regina's eyes landed on the paper bag seating on top of the granite counter top. She walked over to it, eyeing it suspiciously. Carefully she opened the bag and pulled out a Tupperware container. Regina looked up at Henry questioningly.

"Emma made dinner tonight," he explained. "I told her it's not something you would eat, but she insisted I bring some home. It's the thought that counts, she said."

He watched his mother turn the container over in her hands, examining it pensively. Henry was really excited when Emma revealed she would be making Mac 'n Cheese tonight. It was one of his favorites too. But as it turned out, Emma's culinary skills were disappointedly limited to cooking with ingredients that come out of a box.

"What is it?" Regina asked while observing the unnaturally orange mass of lumpy goo sluggishly roll around within the plastic container.

"Kraft dinner," Henry supplied.

Regina narrowed her eyes at the reply, clearly unimpressed by the deputy's choice of food for Henry's dinner. She had specifically instructed Emma to feed him something healthy.

Seeing the expression on his mom's face and not wanting to get Emma into trouble he quickly added, "She made me eat a plate of vegetables too." The blonde was unusually strict about it too, he recalled. Even his puppy dog eyes couldn't get her to budge.

_**"Your mom's order. No argument about it." She had said.** _

_**And he groused and asked if his mom had put a spell on her for taking her side again. Emma laughed at the idea.** _

_**"What for?" She scoffed. "Just to get you to eat your vegetables?"** _

_**"Don't be ridiculous." Henry scowled at her. "The spell is to get you on her side so you would convince me there is no curse because I would be more likely to listen to you. And she's making you say nice things about her so I'd stop thinking she's the Evil Queen. It's all part of her plan to make us believe she loves me. But it's really just to distract us from breaking the curse and saving everyone!"** _

_**Emma's eyebrows hitched together slightly, a little concerned with how absurd Henry's logic was. "That's an awfully stupid and convoluted plan," she pointed out, "when she could have instead easily put a spell on me to make me disappear and a spell on you to make you love her. Boom! No savior to break her curse. No son wanting to break the curse." She held up a hand to forestall further arguments from him. "Henry, don't take things too far just because you want to prove a point. You're really hurting her. Regina may have her flaws, but she's a good mother."** _

_**"She's rotten to the core!"** _

_**Emma rolled her eyes at him. "Don't you think that's a bit extreme, kid? And you're only saying that because you know I'm right," she responded smugly and took her victory as Henry glowered at her without another comeback** _

**'Damn stubborn kid.'**

_**Reaching across the table, Emma took Henry's hand in hers. "Just… just try being a little bit nicer to your mom. Do it for me." She played her trump card and effectively cut off his protest. "She's been pretty nice to me lately, letting me spend time with you and stuff. Don't you think she deserve a bit of a break?"** _

From his perch on the kitchen stool, Henry watched his mom's expression soften having heard Emma had indeed heeded her direction. It really was strange, he thought, that the usually strict Mayor had been letting Emma get away with things so easily.

"Good," Regina acknowledged curtly with a nod. Her eyes returned to the plastic container resting on the counter, as if deciding what to do with it.

Henry continued to watch her, his conversation with Emma replaying in his head. It really wasn't like him to stick around after speaking out of necessity with his mom. "The Mac 'n Cheese really isn't that bad." He gestured towards the Tupperware. "It doesn't compare to the one you make from scratch though. I told Emma that."

"You did?" Regina looked over at him with surprise, amazed that he was still sitting in the kitchen with her, let alone talking to her.

"Uh huh." He nodded, then scrunched up his face comically. "Then she called me a snob."

Regina let loose a soft chuckle, gazing at her son with genuine affection.

Seeing the way his mom was looking at him, Henry squirmed in his seat uncomfortably. This unusual easiness that settled over them suddenly felt extremely awkward. Henry put down his empty glass and slid off the stool.

"Going to bed," he announced quickly before running out of the kitchen, a barely audible "night, Mom" trailed behind him.

Regina took a few quiet minutes to relish the brief warmhearted moment she shared with Henry. Her heart nearly melted when, for a few minutes there, he looked at her without hatred and disgust. She didn't want to consider it, but she knew Emma was in part responsible for the slight change in Henry's attitude. Picking up the Mac 'n Cheese leftover and thinking what a silly gesture it was, Regina was about to put the container back into the paper bag when something inside caught her eyes.

It was a note. And from the badly handwritten scrawl, Regina knew it was from Emma.

_Hey, so my Mac n' Cheese was met with less than stellar review from the critic. He said yours is way better. I'm not surprised :) Since you weren't able to join us for dinner, I've sent some of my humble creation back with the kid. So you too can experience my subpar cooking abilities. Seriously tho, the kid is just spoiled. I told him I grew up on Kraft dinner._

_And thanks for letting spend time with him again._

_\- Em._

A smile pulled at Regina's lips as she set the note down, once again easily charmed by the deputy. She cradled Tupperware in her hand and uttered a short chant under her breath. Blue sparks flashed and almost instantaneously the content of the plastic container was warmed up. Stirring it around before she scooped some of the macaroni with her fork and took her first bite. She immediately scowled at the taste of it.

 _'This is so awfully artificial.'_  But despite the thought, Regina ate another forkful. Then another. And another.

Definitely a moth flying towards the flame.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Disclaimer: Blah. Blah. Not mine or yours, I think they're ABC's.** _

_**Warnings: This fanfic depicts romantic notions between two adult women. If you don't like that, well, I'm sorry for you.** _

_**Note:** _ _**Eeeek! Well… this update took forever. Thank you to everyone that haven't forgotten or given up on this little tale of mine. And thank you so much for all the reviews~** _

_**And as always, thank you Haku2009 for proof reading!** _

* * *

The first thing Emma noticed when she walked into the station was the flowers sitting on her desk. Approaching her workstation hesitantly, she eyed the mysterious bouquet wryly.  _'What the hell?'_

She picked it up, a quick study of them find that the flowers appeared to be personally picked by someone, tied together with a simple twine instead of the typical cellophane wrap found in floral shops. Emma had to admit they were really pretty. But how the heck did they get in here?

Emma looked around the empty station. The place was locked and secured when she came in moments before, having to use her keys at the front door. And the only other person that has keys to the station was…

_'Graham!'_

Blue eyes narrowed as the sheriff came to mind. She tossed the bouquet into the trash without a second thought, unimpressed by the poor attempt of an apology. And even less impressed that the coward didn't even bother showing up in person to do it. Graham had texted her earlier saying he was sick and won't be coming in today.

_'Jerk!'_

Emma nudged the trashcan a little further away from her desk with her booted foot before sitting down to start her work.

* * *

She was in the midst of her morning bear claw and coffee when the local hardware store owner called in a theft in progress. The stupid petty thief was still riffling in the back storage room of the local hardware store when Emma arrived at the scene. And if he weren't so greedy and determined to lug all five power drills down the alley he would've gotten away.

Emma easily apprehended him, taking him back to the station without incident. It wasn't until she released his cuffs before putting him into the cell that the perp tried to make a run for it.

He made it two strides before Emma tackled him from behind.

"Get off me! Get the fuck off! I can't breathe!" the man screamed. He bucked and tried to dislodge the deputy straddled on his back.

"If you can scream, you can breathe," Emma gritted between her teeth, pulling his flailing arms behind his back and finally slapping the cuffs over his wrists. "Stop fighting, you idiot."

"That was a close one, deputy."

Emma looked up at the voice. Her breath involuntarily hitched when she saw Regina sauntering into the station. It was ridiculous, Emma thought, how the woman could make a task as simple as walking sexy. The way the Mayor had her blazer casually draped over her shoulders, hips swaying, red lips suppressing a teasing smirk, and chocolate brown eyes twinkled with amusement made the blonde deputy suddenly dry in the throat.

Hoping she didn't look as dumbfounded as she felt, Emma cleared her throat and raised her eyebrows at the Mayor's comment, a look of "are you kidding me?" crossed her face, "Not even close, actually. I got it all under control, Madame Mayor."

Regina regarded the man laid prone and secured under the deputy. "I suppose you do," she admitted, her voice lilting.

Emma shot the Mayor a curious look. If she wasn't mistaken, Regina's tone sounded almost impressed she physically restrained a grown a man all on her own. She chuckled to herself. Boy, was she ever glad she'd shed her leather jacket earlier. Even knowing it was entirely childish, she couldn't help but puff out her chest a little and flex her arms a bit more than needed when she hauled the man to his feet. "C'mon, get up."

The silly display did not go unnoticed. Usually the no-nonsense Mayor would not put up with juvenile antics like this. But as with many other things, Emma again seemed to be the exception.

Regina rolled her eyes and tried to appear unamused, not wanting the blonde deputy's head to swell any larger than it already had. "Oh, don't be so smug. I'm pleased only because I won't have to read another indecipherable incident report from you. Your spelling is horrid. Maybe you should ask that best friend roommate of yours to help you with that."

"Har har," Emma chortled dryly. She shoved the petty thief into the cell and locked him in. Turning around she picked up a logbook preparing to itemize his personal effects as per protocol. He didn't have much, half a pack of cigarettes, a lighter, a raggedy wallet and a few loose change. Feeling eyes on her, Emma looked up and found Regina watching her mirthfully. "You're having a good day," she commented with a raise of an eyebrow.

Regina hummed affirmatively. A small smile surfaced as she recalls the morning she had with Henry. For the first time in a very long time, she walked her son to school. Whenever she tried before, he would either bolt ahead of her, or lag behind so far she loses the patience to wait. This morning, however, they walked side by side from home all the way to the school. They didn't talk, but that was quite all right with Regina.

She knew she had Emma to thank for the changes in Henry's behavior, but words of gratitude remained lodged in her throat. They are certainly not words Regina used often and to actually say them out loud makes her cringe. She wasn't being ungrateful but she had always believed giving thanks is a sign of weakness. And she really didn't want to show Emma more of that side of her. The deputy had already seen too much for Regina's comfort.

So instead she said, "Come over for dinner tonight."

Emma head shot up in surprise, her work momentarily forgotten. "Huh?" She blinked blankly back at the Mayor. "Are you inviting me to dinner at your place?"

"I'm simply trying to give Henry a break from the junk you keep feeding him." Regina shrugged, playing down the significance of the invitation.

But Emma paid no attention to the intended snub. All she could think about was the woman of her dreams was literally offering to cook her a meal. A grin stretched across her face.

_'This is freakin' awesome!'_  she thought and mentally pumped her fist. Feeling like a cool cat, she started twirling the lighter she had in her hand between her fingers. She hoped she looked suave.

"Hey, be careful with that! That's my family heirloom," the man behind her squawked through the bars of the cell.

Emma gave him a droll look while holding up the lighter. "Seriously? Family heirloom? Dude, this is a Bic lighter."

"So? Who are you to say it wasn't past on for generations in my family?" he retorted and pressed his face up against the metal bars. "If you lose my stuff or damage them, I'm filing a complaint on you."

Blowing out a long-suffering sigh, Emma gathered the man's belongings and gave Regina an apologetic look before disappearing down the hall where the effects lockers are.

Having gotten his way, the man snickered as the deputy scampered off to meet his demand. His snickering was, however, short-lived when he turned his eyes over to the Mayor. Cold, humorless brown eyes bored into his, sending a shiver down his back.

Irked by his nerve to disrupt the amusing conversation she was having with Emma, Regina stared back the man steadily, watching, waiting, and…

_'There it is.'_

As expected, it didn't take long for him to drop his eyes and slowly slink away from the bars. He nervously backed himself towards the far corner of the cell until his legs hit the cot and sat down. This was the stark contrast between Emma and everyone else in town that Regina wasn't able to ignore. Emma had never once shown fear or cowered before her.

From the moment Emma step foot in town, the fearless defiance she brandished was absolutely galling, and Regina's failed attempts to wield any control over the reckless woman just add to enrage her even more. Emma was, no doubt, nothing if not persistent. No amount of intimidation or manipulation on Regina's part could rid her of the aggravating blonde. Never one to surrender first, she had prepared herself to take on every one of Emma's challenges to her authority. She thought would only be a matter of time before Emma learned her place in Regina's town. Everyone else did, eventually.

Except she never in a million years expected Emma to start being caring and nice to her. Her mind went back to the recent string of encounters with the woman who was supposedly her enemy... the attentiveness, the comforting touches, the sweet little gestures, and oh god, the kisses. Regina involuntarily drew in a shaky breath at the memory of Emma's lips on her own.

She tried so hard to fight it, these feelings Emma brought up inside of her. She really did try. But it proved impossible for Regina to remain unaffected by Emma's pursuit of her. It really was flattering to have someone desire her, to find her significant enough to care about her. The last person that made her feel anything like this was, she sighed, Daniel. Even after so many years, her heart still aches at the thought of him.

Regina knew she should be more alarmed at the realization that Emma was making her feel what she used to feel with Daniel. But she couldn't bring herself to care, not when this was the closest she'd come to the happiness she had sought all her life. She just hoped that Emma's intentions were true as she seemed to have implicated, and that Emma was worth risking her heart for.

Letting down her guard again made Regina nervous. It meant inviting Emma in pass her walls once more. It also meant for her to reach out to the blonde. Regina was good at many things, but she came to realize being well versed in the realm of romance was not one of them. So she hoped the flowers she delivered this morning wasn't too forward of a gesture. It was just that Emma had been surprisingly, incredibly patient, and Regina simply wanted to do something nice in return. Plus, it really wasn't  _that_  big of a deal, she had convinced herself. Sending flowers to her employees as a token of appreciation was something she regularly did. Just ask Charge Nurse Gretchen at the hospital.

Speaking of which, Regina's gaze swept lazily over the room looking for the bouquet of flowers, curious as to what Emma did with it. A scan of the deputy's desk showed an empty donut box, empty coffee cups, food wrappers, paper and documents scattered haphazardly, but no flowers.

_'Where are-'_  then the sight of the trashcan caught her eyes.

Regina felt like someone punched her in the gut. She pulled the discarded bouquet out of the trash. Puzzled brown eyes raked over the blossoms, crumpled from being shoved into the small metal bin.

_'Why are…?'_  She didn't understand. This wasn't where the flowers should be. As her mind tried to find a reason for Emma's hurtful treatment to her gift, Mr. Gold's words of warning sifted through her jumble of thoughts.

He was right. Emma had played her.

There was no need to consider any other possible explanations. Why bother when, after a lifetime of conditioning, it was only natural that her mind defaults to one conclusion.

Betrayal.

Emma had used her eagerness for any little bit of affection to get her defenses down, to get to Henry. And Regina had foolishly allowed it. Hurt and disappointment soon gave way to a familiar rage beginning to bubble up inside her. Seething as thoughts of Emma's deception fester in her brain, she tightened her grip on the flowers crushing their stems.

_'This is the last time Emma will make a fool out of me!'_  She roughly shoved the broken bouquet back into the trash bin and stormed out of the station.

* * *

Emma came back from the rear storage section a few moments later. Her brows creased into a frown when Regina was nowhere to be found. She turned to the man lying on the cot in his cell.

"Where did the Mayor go?"

The man lifted his head from the pillow at the question and look back at the deputy. "How should I know?" he scoffed.

Emma went up to the bars of the cell. "What, so she just left without saying anything?"

He shrugged. "Yeah. Although, I did notice she was pretty pissed off when she stormed out of here."

Blue eyes narrowed at him. "What did you do?"

He sat up on the cot and snorted at the absurd implication. "Are you kidding? I don't have a death wish. The Mayor is the last person I would want to piss off. All I can tell you is, she took one look at the flowers in your trash bin and I could literally see steam coming out of her ears. Then she just stomped out of here."

Emma turned to the flowers she threw away this morning.

_'What the hell? Why would the flowers piss her off?'_  she wondered if Regina knew they are from Graham, if that was the reason for her abrupt departure. To be honest, Emma had no idea why the flowers would bother Regina. She already threw them in the trash. Wasn't it obviously they meant nothing to her?

She was tempted to run after Regina to see if she can still catch her outside, but the brunette's unpredictable and volatile moods held her back. Maybe it was best to give the Mayor a bit of space to cool off, Emma decided. She moped around her desk and dropped onto her chair, might as well catch up on the paperwork she was behind on so she'd be free to spend the evening with Regina and Henry. She didn't fail to notice that despite knowing that she'll be seeing Regina again later tonight, it couldn't stop the elation she was filled with moments ago at the presence of the brunette from dwindling by the minute.

* * *

Regina never mentioned what time she should come over for dinner, but Emma figured 6:30 would be an appropriate time. And now she stood outside the mayoral mansion. Blue eyes scanned the windows for any signs of movements, anxiety setting in at the lack there of.

She had arrived about 15 minutes ago, first finding it strange that Regina's car wasn't in the driveway. Then her knocks on the front door went unanswered. She even ran to the back of the house but found it just as quiet and still.

Starting to worry if anything happened to keep the Mayor and their son from getting home, Emma pulled her cell phone out and dialed Regina's number.

No answer.

The image of Regina's black Mercedes wrapped around the lamp post suddenly flashed across Emma's mind. And even though she had seen the new tank of a car Regina bought after the accident (actually, the Mayor went way above and beyond making sure the vehicle was virtually indestructible, deciding on a custom made bullet proof SUV), Emma couldn't stop the fear that settle within her. She quickly redialed Regina's number.

"Hello?" Regina's smooth and steady voice filtered through the earpiece.

"Regina," Emma said with a sigh of relief. "Are you and Henry okay?"

"We are perfectly fine, Miss Swan."

"Oh, uh... that's great." Regina's impassive tone made Emma uneasy. "Uh, I think I may be a bit early for our dinner date. Are you guys on your way back?"

"What dinner date, Miss Swan? I'm already having dinner with Henry."

Emma pulled the phone away from her ear and did a double take at it, not quite sure if she heard what Regina said correctly. She brought the phone back up to her ear, needing clarification. "I'm sorry, I thought you said you are already eating dinner with Henry."

"That is correct."

Regina's matter-of-fact tone of voice was really grinding on Emma's nerves. "I'm standing outside your house right now, Regina. You invited me to dinner, remember?"

"Well, I suppose I'm rescinding that invitation." The Mayor didn't even attempt to sound apologetic.

"Seriously, Regina?" Emma couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Is this some kind of a joke? Cause this isn't funny."

"No one is laughing, Miss Swan," Regina's voice took on a darker edge. "I think I am more than reasonable to ask for a peaceful dinner with my son. You have, after all, monopolized his past few evenings having him all to yourself."

"C'mon, Regina. This is ridiculous." Emma pulled at her blonde hair as she paced around the stoop of the house. "What the hell is the prob-"

"Please, you are wasting my time," Regina cut her off. "I suggest you head on home, Miss Swan. I don't want to see you on my property when I return later tonight. Unless you want Henry to witness an exchange of the unpleasant kind between his two mothers."

Before Emma could utter another word, Regina promptly hung up and the line went dead. Emma stared at the phone incredulously, seriously contemplating the possibility of Regina having some kind of mood disorder.

"Argh!" Emma growled through gritted teeth and then glared at the phone in her hand. She wanted to smash it onto ground and stomp it into a million pieces, projecting her frustration and anger on the handheld device as it was the last thing Regina's voice came through from, dashing all her hopes for a wonderful evening.

But she stopped herself, realizing her own phone was not to be blamed for Regina's shameless manipulation of her emotions. Instead, Emma turned to the front door of the Mayoral Mansion and gave it a few good solid kicks before pounding her way back down the brick path to her car and driving off.

* * *

Mary Margaret was sitting at her desk working in her lesson plans when the door to the apartment swung wildly open, then slammed shut with just as much force. She watched her roommate stomped across the small apartment to the kitchen and pulled out a corkscrew out of the drawer. Frowning, her lips pulled grimly into a thin line as she eyed the bottle of wine Emma was roughly trying to uncork.

_'Oh, Emma.'_  Mary Margaret's heart pulled sympathetically at the sight.

Her blonde friend had came home earlier buzzing with excitement, telling her enthusiastically about the Mayor's dinner invitation and proudly holding in her hands an expensive bottle of wine. Admittedly not knowing much about wine, Emma had apparently spent her entire lunch hour at the liquor store, asking the advice of the store owner and looking for the most worthwhile wine for Regina instead of eating her lunch. Now looking at the way Emma leaning against the kitchen counter and throwing her head back drinking straight from the bottle, Mary Margaret knew the evening was a far cry from what her friend had anticipated.

Emma watched from the corner of her eye as Mary Margaret got up from her desk and made her way over to the her, then slid onto one of the bar stools, waiting silently. Emma allowed herself another long pull from the wine bottle before meeting the gaze of the school teacher.

"Don't ask," she said tiredly.

Mary Margaret looked back at her knowingly. "I don't really need to." There was a slow burn of anger towards Regina, whom she held sole responsible for the state that her friend was in. But Mary Margaret decided she would contain her own feelings and opinions about the cruel woman for the moment and just be supportive to her blonde friend.

Emma sighed and put the bottle down on the counter. She knew she was putting on quite a pathetic display. Looking up she was thankful to find patient green eyes gazing back at her.

"I'm trying so hard here, Mary Margaret," she spoke softly, seemingly defeated. "Harder than I have ever tried in my life. Why couldn't she see that?"

Mary Margaret's heart broke for her friend. When she told the strong-willed blonde to stop keeping people at arm's length, she didn't mean for Emma to allow the heartless Mayor to do this to her, bringing her hopes up only to crush them under those hard stiletto heels.

"I know, I know." Emma waved off the question she knew was at the tip of the school teacher's tongue. "You're wondering why I keep setting myself up for crap like this. I've asked myself that same question a million times and," Emma sighed heavily and picked up the bottle again, "I still don't have a clue why I can't ignore this pull I have towards Regina."

"Emma…" Mary Margaret regarded the blonde with a curious tilt of her head, an unsettling thought beginning to take form in her head. "Are you… are you in love with her?"

Emma snorted around a mouthful of wine. Quickly swallowing before she chokes, she wiped her lips with the back of her hand before answering her friend's question. "Love? Ha, I don't think so." She chuckled nervously at the preposterous idea. "Seriously, me? Regina? You've got to be kidding. Yeah, I'm deathly attracted to her. But we... I..." Emma began stammering, losing track of her reasoning. "I mean, I... Oh! I don't know!" she exclaimed in frustration, holding her head in her hands.

"I have never been in love before," Emma whispered after a few minutes, her head still cradled in her hands. "I don't even what that's supposed to look like."

"Emma…" Mary Margaret reached across the counter and took Emma's hands in hers.

"Have you been in love, Mary Margaret?" Emma asked wistfully.

"Um," taken aback by having the question turned back to her, Mary Margaret needed a moment to gather her thoughts. And naturally, her thoughts went straight to David Nolan. She wondered if what she felt for him could be called love. Despite how happy he made her feel every time they meet in secrecy, the fact remains that he's still married to Kathryn. "No, Emma, I can't say I've been in love before too."

"Jeez, we are a sad pair," Emma muttered.

"Maybe it's a good thing you and the Mayor take a bit of time apart," Mary Margaret suggested, wondering if she should consider doing the same with David. "Just to take a step back and put things into perspective without all the confusing emotions."

"I guess you're right." Emma did feel emotionally drained and her brain hurt. A break from Regina was really the ideal option at the moment. Yes, she needed that. And she also needed a distraction.

"What are you doing?" Mary Margaret asked as Emma pulled her cellphone out of her back pocket and started dialing.

"Calling Ruby. We," Emma gestured between herself and her roommate with her free hand, "are going out tonight."

"Emma, it's a school night."

"Aw, don't be a party pooper!" The blonde pouted. "Fine, you stay home. Ruby will come with me." Then she brought the wine bottle back up to her lips and took another long pull from it while Mary Margaret looked on with concern.

"Okay, okay, I'll come," the brunette relented, only because she could sense Emma's intention to simply drink her frustration away and Ruby was hardly reliable to keep the blonde deputy from drinking out of control. "We can't stay too late."

"Yeah, of course!" Emma grinned, then turned her focus to her cellphone. "Ruby! Hey, girls' night out tonight! You game?"

Mary Margaret sighed.  _'Who am I kidding? It's gonna be a loooong night.'_


	10. Chapter 10

_**Disclaimer:**_   _ **Blah. Blah. Not mine or yours, I think they're ABC's.**_

_**Warnings:**_   _ **This fanfic depicts romantic notions between two adult women. If you don't like that, well, I'm sorry for you.**_

_**Note:** _ _**This chapter is a bit longer than usual. I'm really trying hard to find time to write. I love it, I don't want to give it up. So thank you everyone for the encouragement and patience in sticking around to read my work. Thank you!~** _

_**And as always, thank you Erin for proof reading!**_

* * *

Four days.

It's been four days since she saw or heard from either Regina or Henry, Emma fumed as she lay on her bed staring up at the ceiling. Despite how small a town Storybrooke was Regina managed to completely cut Emma off from Henry and somehow avoid the deputy all together herself. Emma found out that the Mayor had given herself flexible work hours, working from home mostly and spending all other time with Henry when he wasn't in school or therapy.

Her mind kept replaying the last time she saw Regina, trying but with no avail to figure out what she actually did to piss the woman off. It frustrated the hell out of her to not at least know what she was being punished for.

She rolled over and buried her face into the pillow. "Argh!" she screamed into it while kicking her feet against the mattress.

The tantrum was short lived because Emma quickly found herself suffocating face down on the pillow. Resting her head on its side instead, Emma released a long-suffering sigh. One minute she was laying there on her bed limp and listless, wallowing in self-pity. The next minute she was bolting up, scrambling off the mattress and began rummaging through the mess under the bed.

"Damn it! Where is it?" she muttered to herself as she sifted through piles of dirty laundry, odd miscellaneous papers and junk food wrappers. "God, I'm such an idiot! Why didn't I think of this earlier?"

After a long string of curses, Emma eventually extracted herself from under the bed.

"Aha!" she yelled triumphantly, holding up a green sock and an old 2-way radio.

She threw the sock onto her dresser, not wanting to lose it again (it was part of her favorite pair of socks). Dusting off the radio, she hoped the battery still held its charge. She and Henry found these relic devices in the lost and found at the Sheriff Station a while back. They played around with them for a bit before the novelty quickly worn off and forgetting all about them.

The radio crackled when she switched it on. "Henry," she spoke into it. Then repeated herself when she didn't get a response.

_'Aw, c'mon kid.'_  Sighing, she crawled over to her bedside table, rooted through its drawer and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper Henry gave her a while back. Code names, he had said.

"Ahem," she cleared her throat before pressing the talk button again. "Ironman, this is SuperBeetle. Come in, over."

"Ironman here, go ahead," Henry's voice came through the radio immediately.

"Hey kid." She smiled at the sound of his voice. "Just wanted to see how you're doing."

"I'm fine," Henry replied. "But what did you do?! Why won't mom let me see you?"

"I don't know," Emma answered frustrated. "I thought things were finally gonna be okay, then out of the blue she's mad at me again. How is she?"

He sighed heavily into the radio. "Well, she's obviously still very crossed with you. And the weird thing is she's kinda sad too."

"Geez, I don't even know what I did to upset her!"

"I hope you'll figure it out and fix this soon," Henry urged. "I miss you, Emma."

"Kid, I miss you too," Emma replied back softly, touched by his admission. God, she really could use some help sorting this mess out. "Did your mom happen to say anything-"

"Oh shit!" Henry's voice whispered harshly into the radio. Then there was only silence.

"Henry?" Emma called out, and called again when she got no answers from him. "Hello? Ironman?"

"Miss Swan."

Emma startled and almost dropped the radio when it was Regina that responded and not Henry. "Uh... hi, Regina," she greeted in return meekly.

"Have I not made myself clear enough that I do not wish for you to be in any contact with my son or myself?"

"Yeah, you made that pretty clear," Emma huffed. "What you didn't make clear was why."

"I cannot help you if your brain isn't capable of figuring that out on your own."

"This is bullshit, Regina. My brain isn't the problem here, it's your unpredictable mood swings. One minute you're inviting me to dinner, the next you're leaving me stranded outside your empty house when I showed up. You tell me why that is."

Regina snorted humorlessly. "You'd want me to do that, wouldn't you? Tell you what I have exactly figured out about you so you can fabricate more lies to cover up your deceptions."

"What are you talking about? I didn't lie to you." Emma was completely baffled by the Mayor's accusation. It was absurd. If anything, Emma had made so much effort letting down her guard and open herself to the woman.

"Save it, Miss Swan. I'm done with all the games you're playing." Regina was determined to not let herself be sucked into Emma's tricks again.

"You're being ridiculous. I'm not playing any damn games! Where the hell are you getting these ideas? This is killing me, Regina. It's been four days. I really miss Henry, and..." Emma bit her lips, then continued on voicing her next thought in as earnest a voice as she could muster. "And believe it or not, I miss you."

There was a soft click over the radio, and Emma hope it wasn't what she think it was.

"Regina?" She tentatively called into the device. "Regina, are you still there?" She called again but was met with nothing but silence. Not even a crackle or static.

_'Damn it, she turned the damn thing off!'_ Emma threw the radio across the room out of pure frustration.

* * *

Across town the other radio of the pair was met with a similar demise at the Mayoral mansion. Regina grimly stared at the radio lying on the floor across the study.

She nearly gave in again, she cursed herself. Regina couldn't decide if she was more irritated with herself for her gullibility or with Emma's charming trickery.

The past four days hadn't been easy. To completely avoid the other woman in the town the size of a postage stamp was more arduous than Regina had originally thought. She constantly had to ensure she was one step ahead in order to elude the blonde; working from home so she could be free to be with Henry whenever he's not in school, delegating the task of handling all correspondences between the City Hall and the Sheriff Station to her assistant, and steering clear of places she knew the deputy would frequent (like Granny's). While successful in cutting Emma out of her and Henry's lives, the entire process of it caused her more grief than comfort because she found herself having to actively keep the blonde in her mind at all times in order to stay a step ahead. And every time Henry uttered Emma's name or when a document crosses her desk penned by Emma, there was a sharp tugging in her chest. She loathed facing the truth, but despite knowing it was all a rouse, she did miss the blonde.

"Mom?"

The sound of Henry's soft voice pulled her out of her thoughts. Turning towards it, she found her son leaning against the doorway watching her with a curious expression.

"Henry, why are you out of bed?" she asked.

"I heard a loud bang." He stepped into the room and almost immediately he spotted the new dent on the far wall and the radio on the floor.

"I'm sorry, Henry. I'll buy you a new one tomorrow," Regina offered when she caught where his gaze landed.

"Why are you so angry at Emma?"

"I'm—Miss Swan she—it's complicated, Henry," she finally settled on and was about to send him back to bed when he walked further into the room and took a seat in the chair across from her, looking at her expectantly. God, how could she possibly explain it all to him? Tell him that his birth mother had tricked her into having feelings for her and broke down her defense in order to ultimately steal him away? He'd probably jump at the idea of leaving her for Emma, she scoffed bitterly in her mind.

"Henry, I know that you miss Miss Swan very much," she spoke resignedly. "But I'm going to need you to give me a few more days to work things out. Can I ask that of you?" When Henry nodded, she took a deep breath before continuing, "and I need you to hold off seeing her."

"Okay," he readily agreed, surprising Regina.

"Really? You're okay with this?" She frowned at his quick answer, fully expecting an argument from him.

"Yeah." Henry shrugged his shoulders. He knew it must've sound unlike him to be so agreeable, but he really didn't have it in him to fight his mom on her request. Looking at her now, there was a distinct air of sadness and disappointment about her as it had for the past 4 days. It was unsettling for him to see his usually stoic mother in such a state. He wasn't quite sure what he should do with an Evil Queen that didn't seem so evil, but instead looked broken and vulnerable.

To be fair, the past couple of days of being exclusively kept by his mother's side really weren't all that horrible. She wasn't overbearing like she typically was and she actually kept mostly to herself in the house. As a result, Henry got to play more video games in the last 4 days than he had in the past 6 months!

"Well, I came down just to see what the loud bang was. I guess I'll just go back to bed now." He shrugged in a nonchalant, child-like manner and got out of the chair. "Night, mom," he added before leaving Regina alone in the room again.

She looked at her son's retreating form fondly. His sensitive and caring nature caused a tinge of pride to bloom in her chest. Sure, ever since his head was filled with ideas of her being the Evil Queen their relationship had been strained and tenuous. It was hurtful beyond words. But how could she fault him or be angry with him? He was, after all, just an impressionable 10-year-old boy. Moments like this, however rare they have become, were prove that despite all the wrong she had done in the past, she could always look at Henry to remind her of the one thing she at least did one thing right in this world.

* * *

Emma set the tumbler down on the bar counter, grimacing as that last mouthful of whiskey burned a trail down her throat to her gut. Her weary blue eyes squinted at the empty glass, wondering how many she had already tonight. Was that drink number 5? Or was it number 6? And how long had she been sitting here anyway? She turned her head surveying the diner. Clearly the dinning crowd had dissipated. There were only two other persons left in the establishment, sitting in the booth in the far end of the diner sharing a slice of pie.

_'A dessert date?'_  she surmised in her mind bitterly. Ever since the radio conversation she had with Regina yesterday, she had been extra grouchy and bitter, especially with all things sweet and lovely-dovey. Sighing, she averted her eyes from the couple and poured herself another drink. She had a nice buzz going, effectively numbing the heartache in her chest.

The bell above the door signaled an incoming customer. Emma turned to see who had walked in and she felt dread washed over her.  _'Shit!'_

"Emma," Graham greeted quietly as he sat down on the stool next to the blonde.

She ignored him and continued to sip her drink. This is the first time in days since she had seen him. From the brief glimpse she took of him just now, she gotta say the Sheriff looked like crap. But Emma couldn't find an ounce of care in her.

"Emma," he tried again. "We need to talk."

She gave him an annoyed sideways glance. "About what?"

Graham leaned towards the blonde. "That kiss we shared-"

"Whoa, stop!" Emma cut him off fixing him with a glare. "I don't want to talk about that. You do something like that again I'm gonna punch you in the face. I'm serious."

She was already pissed off that he just basically disappeared on her, leaving her alone to manage the station and deal with all the workload that came with it. And now he also wanted to talk about that stupid kiss?!

Graham studied her as she knocked back another mouthful of the amber liquor. Taking in her bedraggled form, it was clear to him that she was having as much a hard time with this as he had.

"C'mon, just hear me out," he ventured again despite her warning. Immediately, she held up a finger to silence him. He quickly grasped her by the wrist in response, holding on firmly but gently and hoping his touch would sooth her bristled state. "Please." It seemed to have worked when she didn't pull away, looking back at him expectantly.

Relieved, he shifted closer, guiding her arm to rest on the counter. He didn't let go as he started talking. "I'm sorry I've been away. But I... I had to be alone. After we kissed, my mind was bombarded with all these strange visions. I thought I was going crazy. It got so bad I was having trouble telling them apart from reality. But as days went by, the visions began to make more sense to me. I know it sounds really weird, but I think it's trying to tell me something about myself that I don't even know of. I'm still not sure what this all means, but Emma." He moved his hand to cover hers. "What I'm sure about is that you are the key to all this. You are the piece that has been missing in my life. Emma Swan, you are what's going to make sense of my existence."

Emma's heart grew heavier as she listened to him. Here's this guy pouring his heart out to her and she supposed she should be flattered. But all she could think about was how everything Graham had said she wished she was hearing it from a particular someone else. She felt a prickling behind her eyes at the thought of Regina.

_'I'm not asking her to profess her undying love for me. All I wanted was a chance. Just a chance to see if there could be... more.'_ Her chest constricted painfully as she realized grimly that she and Regina might never be more of anything.

Falling for and pursuing Regina had got to be the dumbest thing she's done in her life. How foolish was she to think a woman of Regina's caliber, a town Mayor, would really want someone like her, that if she take a leap of faith and put down some roots her life might finally take a better turn. Hadn't she learned anything from her years growing up in the foster system? Old memories of her case-worker (one of many over the years) pulling her aside for "a talk" played in her mind. She remember the apologetic look in his eyes, the same look all the other ones had. She knew he was going to tell her she's being moved yet again. By the time she was older, she was indifferent to such news, having accepted that stability and the sense of belonging will never be a luxury she's entitled to.

Yet here she was she sitting here nursing a broken heart with a bottle of cheap whiskey. How could she be so stupid? Making that stupid wish on her birthday, and then allowing herself to believe it was a miracle wish come true that she could fit into and belong in Henry's and Regina's lives. Idiot!

Drowning in her drunken haze of disappointment and self-pity, she didn't fight it when Graham raised a hand to her face and tucked an errant lock of hair behind her ear, welcoming any sort of reassurance and validation that she wasn't as unwanted as life had proven her. And when Graham slid his hand to the back of her neck and pulled her to him, she went with it too, desperate to feel better about herself.

It didn't help.

Graham's lips felt awkward against hers, his stubble scratching her face uncomfortably. His touch didn't send her heart racing. It was nothing like when kissing Regina, with her full supple lips and baby smooth skin. The sad truth? Kissing Graham just made her feel even more pathetic than she did before.

The clanging of the doorbell was a grateful distraction to put an end to this laughable facade. Emma pulled away from Graham, avoiding his questioning haze and turned to the door instead, seriously considering buying the person that so helpfully interrupted them a piece of pie or something.

She never expected Regina standing at the doorway with Henry and nearly fell out of her seat at the sight of them.  _'Aw crap!'_

Regina's face was unreadable. Dark steely eyes shifted between the Sheriff and the deputy. Lips pulled into a tight grim line. While Henry gaped at his birth mother with an expression that was an odd cross between shock and grossed out.

"Henry," Regina said, pleased she was able to keep her voice steady and controlled because inside was a whole other story. "We'll come back for dessert some other day." Grateful that he simply nodded and didn't put up an argument, she guided him out of the diner.

"No," Emma sputtered and scrambled off the bar stool with only one intent to chase after Regina's and Henry's. "No no no no NO!"

Graham grabbed her arm as she passed by him, attempted to pull her back. "Emma!"

"Let go, Graham!" She roughly shrugged off his hand and shoved him away from her. Once freed, she quickly grabbed her jacket and bolted out of the diner. She didn't bother looking back when he tumbled off the stool, didn't see the Sheriff agonizingly grabbed his head as images violently began flashing behind his eyes again.

Emma raced out of the diner. Spinning around frantically in the middle of the street searching for signs of Regina and Henry, she growled in frustration when they were nowhere in sight. Her panic rising, she made a mad dash to her yellow bug she parked halfway down the block. It was only when she reached the car she remembered her keys were with Rudy for safekeeping earlier in the evening. The waitress had insisted on the exchange for the bottle of whiskey.

"Fuck!" she cursed and kicked at the car's tire. She needed to get to Regina, needed to explain what she saw at the diner moments ago. The Mayor was good, as usual, at hiding effortlessly behind that indifferent mask of hers. But she couldn't hide the myriad of emotions in those dark brown eyes. The anger, pain, hurt and disappointment. It was very brief but Emma caught it all.

Locked out of her car and no way to get her keys back from Ruby after the amount of whiskey she drank, Emma saw no other options but to get to Regina's the old fashion way. She let out one final sigh of resignation and started jogging down the street.

* * *

It took her longer than expected to get to the Mayoral Mansion. Somehow in her state of inebriation she thought it would be brilliant to take a short cut through town by cutting across people's yards. After scaling multiple fences, dodging the few diligent guard dogs protecting their piece of lawn, and losing her direction a few times after emerging from thick bushes, she finally broke through the hedges surrounding Regina's yard.

Brushing off the errand leaves and dirt off her jacket, she made it up to the front door and pounded in the door. "Regina!" Almost immediately she could hear the heavy thumping of footsteps from inside the house running towards the door.

Henry had his hand on the doorknob, about to pull it open, when his mother called out his name. "Henry!"

He looked over his shoulder at Regina standing by the staircase.

"Don't answer that," she instructed.

Henry cocked his head to the side in a curious manner, furrowing his brows as he contemplated her request. His first instinct was to open the door for Emma. But there was something about the tone of his mother's voice that gave him a pause. Her request didn't have the usual commanding quality to it. Instead, it almost sounded like a plead to his ears. And while he missed did Emma immensely the past few days, he quickly remembered what he saw at the diner earlier and he couldn't help be feel a little bit mad at Emma because, clearly, she hadn't missed him all that much if she was out on a date with Graham.

Making up his mind, Henry let his hand fall from the doorknob and peeked out the window off to the side.

Emma ceased her pounding of the door when she caught a glimpse of movement in her peripheral vision. Taking back a step she found Henry looking out at her from the narrow side window next to the door. She went over to him quickly. "Henry, open the door and let me in."

To her surprise, the boy simply shrugged nonchalantly, seemingly having no intention to be of any help to her.

"Henry," she said in a warning tone.

She saw him turn his head slightly speaking to Regina whom Emma could now see past the boy's head. His voice was muffled, but Emma was pretty sure it sounded like he just asked his mother if he can go play some more video games. With a slight nod from Regina, Henry gave Emma a regretful look and a half-hearted wave, then turned and trotted away from the window.

Emma pressed her face up against the glass and watched in shock as the boy disappeared from her sight, her mouth opening and closing wordlessly.  _'I don't believe this!'_

Her gaze shifted over to the woman still standing next to the stairs. Regina looked back at her with an inscrutable expression.

"Regina?" Emma pleaded.

A glimmer of hope sparked within her when the Mayor's dark eyes wavered and her jaw visibly clenched, clearly attempting to maintain her resolve. But Regina closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened eyes again, any hope Emma was hanging on to all but vanished. A shiver went down her back as Regina returned her gaze with the coldest and most stone hardened look. Even as Emma whimpered in protest, Regina moved to turn off the lights in the foyer and disappeared up the stairs, leaving the deputy outside on the other side of the front door.

Emma continued to pound on the door and slap at the glass in desperation. "Regina! Henry!" But her cries and all the noise she was making were all unanswered.

Eventually, silence fell over the Mayoral mansion again with the town's deputy sitting slumped against the door, completely dejected. It took a long moment, but Emma finally struggled to her feet, being weighed down by the alcohol still flowing strong in her system, and moved away from the house. She sniffled, wiping her wet nose with the back of her hand, as she walked down the red brick pathway. She was almost at the gate when she happened turned her head and her eyes fell on the garage at the side of the house. An idea began to form in her head as she changed the direction of her trek and went towards the garage.

Emma looked up at the roofline of the huge 3-car garage, noticing how it's attached to the house. It really was a bad idea, she admitted even as she dragged a garbage can over to the side of the garage. But something innate inside her just refused to leave things as is. She was deathly tired of this uncertainty between herself and Regina, so whether the Mayor likes it or not, these mind games are going to end tonight.

Climbing on top the garbage can Emma reached up and pulled herself up onto the roof. She got up on her feet, balancing precariously on the sloped surface and made her way across the roof.

_'How convenient,'_  she thought as she looked up to find an open window just a few feet above her. It was a reach, but she could make it. Taking a few running steps, she kicked off the side of the house to give herself a bit of a boost to latch her fingers onto the window ledge. With a grunt, the deputy powered herself up and through the window.

She tumbled onto the room, landing on plush carpets with a soft oomph. And as soon as she sat up and took in her surroundings Emma almost had to laugh. Of all the rooms for her to stumble in randomly, she ended up right in the master bedroom. Which means, Regina's bedroom. If she had one of those "that was easy" buttons, she would be pushing it now.

The blonde deputy tiptoed further into the room, stopping when she heard faint sounds of water splashing. Cocking her head to the side with her ear towards one of the doors in the bedroom room that was held slightly ajar, she realized behind that door must be the master in-suite.

More splashing sound. And before Emma could stop it, images of Regina naked in a bathtub raced through her mind. Rearing back as her knees suddenly buckled, she stumbled to put some distance between her and the door. The back of her legs hit the chaise lounge in a corner of the room and she dropped heavily onto it. She attempted to school her thoughts about the other woman from becoming entirely inappropriate and lewd, thinking instead of mundane, neutral things like bear claws; how she had really grown fond of them since arriving town and, albeit rather cliché, especially after she had taken the position as deputy. Come to think of it, Emma had completely forgotten about her previous favorite snack, the Twinkie. The golden soft sponge cake with the creamy white filling. She recalled how she always loved licking out all the filling with her tongue. And for reasons she unfortunately was fully aware of why, the image of licking out a Twinkie made her mind trek right back to Regina.

Groaning, Emma buried her face in her hands. She prayed that Regina would come out soon from the bathroom before she gets carried away by her thoughts.

* * *

Regina loved her long baths. It was a long-standing habit she fostered even back in Fairytale Land, now made more convenient by the modern plumbing of this land. The warmth of a bath had always comforted and soothed her in a way she imagined a lover would if she had one. She especially needed it given the events of the past few days, but even staying longer than usual in the tub this evening did little to alleviate her heartache.

Standing in front of the sink, she pulled the towel from her wet hair and used it to wipe away the condensation collected on the bathroom mirror. In the haziness of her own reflection, she grimaced when she saw how much it looked her mother staring back at her with disappointment and disgust.

_'You are weak.'_  Regina swore she heard the reflection sneered at her in Cora's voice.  _'A pathetic, disgraceful fool!'_

Even in death, the cruel woman still manages to haunt her with her criticism. Regina turned her back to the reflection, she squeezed her eyes tight and fought to block out her mother's disapproving opinion of her. Was she weak when she survived the death of Daniel? Or how about when she endured the marriage that was forced upon her? When she banished her mother to another land and then ordered her killed? Or was she weak when sacrificed her own father to enact the curse to end all curses? For all the days that Regina could ever remember, it had always been just her alone against the rest of the world. So if she's still standing where she is right now, to have come this far despite all that was against her, then no, she is not weak! And it will take far more than the games Emma Swan played to break her.

Regina wiped away the wetness on her cheeks and found her composure again. She half-turned back towards the mirror, then hesitated, reluctant to face the trickle of fear her mother permanently cultivated within her. She would not admit it, but there was a small iota of fear within her. So instead, she pushed away from the sink with a indignant lift of her chin and walked out of the bathroom.

She felt the presence of another person in her bedroom immediately. Scanning the room quickly, anger bubbled through her veins when her eyes landed on the hunched over figure sitting uninvited on her chaise in the far corner of the room.

"Swan!" she growled and threw her towel at the blonde.

The wet towel hit Emma squarely in the face, jerking her out of her slumber. She had fallen asleep while waiting for Regina. Blinking groggily for a few seconds as she reoriented herself. Emma glanced up to find the Mayor standing only a few feet from her. The blonde deputy's mind briefly registered the dangerous expression on the Regina's face before her cognitive abilities were rendered useless by the blue silk chemise and matching short robe she was wearing. Emma couldn't stop her eyes from roaming over the curves and the expanse of bare skin of Regina's body.

Realizing what the blonde was looking at, Regina scowled and pulled her robe closed around her body, effectively putting an end to Emma's leer.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed through her teeth in a hushed tone. "And how the hell did you...?" There wasn't a need to finish the question as her eyes drifted over to the window she normally leaves open. Still, it wasn't an invitation for the blonde to break into her house!

Emma stood up and took a tentative step towards the fuming brunette. "We need to talk."

"I think not, Miss Swan." Regina crossed her arms over her chest resolutely and glared at the other woman, finding the nerve she displayed to make such a demand incredulous. "Now, get out of my house."

But Emma wasn't about to relent just like that. "No! Whether you like it or not, Regina, we are talking. First of all, we are having a discussion about these mixed messages you keep sending. I can't take much more of this."

Both of Regina's eyebrows shot up to her hairline. "Excuse me? My mixed messages?"

"Well, yeah," Emma drawled. She really hated to point out the obvious but Regina was leaving her no choice. "You let me in past that wall of yours and then you push me out. Let me in, and push me out. All this yo-yoing is driving me insane. I don't know what the hell it is that you want."

Regina could barely contain her outrage at Emma's audacity to turn this around and pin the blame on her. "Don't you dare," she seethed. "Put this back on me when you are the one playing games here, like this is some big joke to you."

"I'm not playing any goddamn games you keep accusing me of! Why do you keep saying that?" Emma asked, wounded. This entire time of dancing around each other, she had been nothing but honest and genuine. All she wanted was to see where these feelings she had never felt before for another person would take her. Any intentions of the deceitful nature never even crossed her mind, and to hear such accusation was, well, really hurtful.

Regina felt her resolve began to crumble at the sight the sad, frowny face Emma was now sporting. But she quickly reminded herself she cannot keep letting the blonde off the hook so easily, not to fall for another one of her ruses and her pretense of having no idea what Regina was talking about.

"You made me think you cared," Regina said and immediately winced the crack in her voice. She had intended her words to be more stern, more accusatory. But evidently it was difficult to hide the hurt caused by Emma's lies and betrayal. "You really don't though. You just pretend that you do."

"I do care!" Emma exclaimed. She really did. Hell, she more than care!

Regina simply scoffed at her, "Yes dear, you really had me convinced as I walked in on you kissing Graham."

"Oh." Emma visibly deflated as that particular detail was brought up. She scratched the back of her neck uneasily. "Well, about that... It was nothing. It didn't mean anything. I wasn't thinking." She paused, frowning. "Actually, no. I was thinking. I was thinking about you."

"Aw, did you?" Regina cooed in an exaggerated manner. "So sweet of you to think of me while kissing another person!"

Emma sighed at the sarcasm dripping from the Mayor's words. "Okay, yes that sounded weird. But listen, I'm not lying when I say you are all I've been thinking of. I couldn't stop trying to figure out why despite all my effort, you pulled away from me again. You shut me out. So I was at the diner drinking, feeling sorry for myself when Graham found me. He was saying all these nice and sweet things. Things that I'd rather hear from you. And I know this sounds really pathetic." She sheepishly ran her a hand through her hair. "But for a moment there, I just needed to feel I was wanted. It's stupid, but I let him kiss me anyway. And it felt wrong instantly. It was nothing like when we..."

Emma let the words trail off, finding it suddenly difficult to continue as memories of kissing Regina brought a powerful surge of feelings over her. Then she thought bitterly and silently to herself, that at this rate she was not likely to get another chance to feel those lips against her own again.

Regina grind her teeth in irritation, as she too remembered how it felt to be kissing the blonde woman and tried to swallow down the lump that suddenly was lodged in her throat.

_'Lies! She has to be lying!''_  Regina tried to convince herself, but even her inner voice sounded half-hearted in its conviction. She knew she shouldn't believe Emma, but inevitably there was a growing part of her that really wanted to. God, was she truly so deprived to simply take the blonde at her words?

She shook her head clear of the self-pitying thoughts and pulling her what little resolve she had left together. Scrambling in her head, she needed reasons to not let Emma back inside her walls. "You threw my flowers away," Regina admonished, leveling the blonde with a glare.

"What flowers?" Emma asked, confusion etched on her face. "C'mon, I think I would remember if I got flowers from you." She laughed slightly, nervously. Then quickly sobered when Regina's dour expression failed to lessen its intensity. "Seriously, I'm really not a flowers person anyway. Graham sent me some and I tossed them-" And then it hit her. "Oh..." Suddenly realizing what she had done. "Oh, shit." Holding a hand up to her mouth in horror, Emma muttered, "I'm so sorry." The deputy couldn't believe how stupid she was. "I'm so, so sorry," she apologized again. "I honestly didn't know they were from you."

Regina looked away from the rueful eyes, realizing Emma was most likely speaking the truth because she didn't, in fact, leave a note or anything with the flowers. This was beginning to all seem like they both had simply been too quick to jump to conclusions about each other. Her gaze shifted back to the blonde woman, whom had began pacing in a small circle and muttering under her breath to herself. So where do they go from here? Can she really trust Emma?

_'There is a reason why you never had or wanted a relationship!'_ Emma groused to herself.  _'Cause you would totally fuck it all up like you are right now! What a complete joke!'_

Eventually, she stopped her berating monologue and her pacing. The deputy looked positively defeated with her head hung low, shoulders slumped and her hands shoved into her jeans pockets. She felt terrible about the mess she had created.

"I don't know what to do," Emma whispered shaking her head. "I'm no good at this. Tell me what you need me to do to make it all better."

She looked imploringly at Regina, but then dropped her gaze when all she got back from the woman was a steady blank stare. Emma cursed under her breath.  _'What did you expect her to say that she hadn't already said about a million times over? Leave, is what she would like you to do. At least you wouldn't screw that up. Leaving and running is what you do best after all.'_

Unbeknownst to Emma, Regina's lack of response wasn't meant to be a snub at her request. On the contrary, the Mayor surprisingly found herself wanting to be able to give the blonde an answer, but her mind was drawing blanks.

_'What do you know about making a relationship work anyway?'_  her inner voice mocked. Absolutely nothing, was the immediate answer. The truth in that thought made her achingly sad.

Emma caught the pained expression crossing the brunette's face and it made her feel like a jerk for putting it there.

_'I should stop,'_ she bided to herself morosely. _'I can't stupidly carry on pushing her for something I'm never meant to have. All I'm doing is making her miserable.'_

"I'm sorry," Emma repeated lowering her gaze to avoid Regina's eyes. She didn't think she could get her entire apology out if she had those deep brown orbs bearing down on her. And now her head suddenly began to pound and she shut her eyes in an attempt to hold off onset of an impending headache, a lovely side effect from consuming nearly an entire bottle of whiskey earlier this evening. "It's just that, the more you put up a fight to make me leave, the more I want to stay. I don't know why this is happening but I have never felt a stronger need to fight to be a part of someone's life. And this isn't even just about Henry it's you too." She chanced a fleeting glance at the brunette. "I know I should have listened the first time you told me to leave. But I just couldn't, you know? I had to try. I never meant to cause you all this grief and be such a big pain in the ass. I just wanted a chance to..." She sighed before continuing. "Never mind, I'm giving you my word I will be out of town by the end of the week."

Emma finally looked back up to Regina, fully expecting her surrender would bring triumph, satisfaction and contentment for the other woman. After all, her leaving was what the Mayor had wanted all along, wasn't it? So why was Regina looking at her now with an expression tensed with anxiety and apprehension?

"You do want me to leave, don't you?" Emma asked tentatively, curiously. Stepping closer to the seemingly speechless brunette, she was able to see the internal war waging behind those brown eyes. "Regina?"

It wasn't that long ago the answer to that was a definite and resounding "yes". Regina could still remember that initial (and regrettably short-lived) burn of a desire to wish the woman gone. But that was when things were simple and clear cut. It was before Emma bullheaded her way into her heart. And when it came to the matter of the blonde deputy, her heart's propensity to regress back to its state of youth, naive and full of hope, was something Regina had resigned herself to accept. She was thankful for the bit of sensibility left in her brain to keep her heart in check. Otherwise, if left solely up to the foolish organ in her chest, she would have allowed herself to heedlessly be lure into Emma's web of lies.

But faced now with Emma's declaration to leave left her realizing that she hadn't been sensible. She was insecure. The conclusion she drew on Emma's intentions wasn't based on logic and reasoning, it was doubt and fear. There were no feelings of victory as her mind processed Emma's words. Instead, all she was aware of at the moment was the feeling of her chest was being crushed in.

"Regina?" Emma tried again, starting to feel unsettled by the lack of response from the brunette. "Just say the words, Regina, and I promise I will be out of your hair from here on. No games, I swear." She hoped it was the assurance the Mayor needed.

_'I can't!'_  Regina screamed in her mind, suddenly unable to bring herself to make the demand she had been freely throwing at the blonde in the past. She wanted desperately to give what her heart yearned for, to recklessly take a gamble its fate on Emma. But even if could she really risk losing her heart to this woman, could she live with the risk to losing Henry?

"Don't take Henry from me," she finally spoke, wide-eyed and fearful. Her hands reached forward. Finding purchase on Emma's ratty tank top, she frantically clutched the threadbare fabric in her fingers.

The desperation in the small gesture was not lost on Emma. Closing the remaining distance between the two, she grasped the trembling brunette's face gently in her hand.

"Never," Emma assured. "Regina, no matter what happens I will never take Henry away from you. That was never my intention."

"Promise?"

To hear the small, vulnerable voice coming from the usually stern and powerful woman was gut-wrenching. And Emma hated herself for playing a part in reducing the woman to such a state of desolation. "Yes, I promise," she swore with every ounce of sincerity she could possibly muster.

Regina released a breath she didn't even realize she was holding and nodded in concession. She didn't want to question why Emma's words were suddenly enough to convince her. They... they just were. It was still true that if she were to lose Henry, she wouldn't survive it and that will never change. But at this moment, she also couldn't bear watching this woman walk out of her life.

"So, uh, does this mean I get to stay?" Emma stammered, while trying to keep the hope she felt bubbling inside of her at bay. She was uncertain as to where she stands at this junction. Regina hadn't exactly given her a clear answer whether she wanted Emma to go or not. Even though the look Regina was giving her appeared to indicate the latter, Emma didn't want to assume because her track record in that area had proven to be quite lousy lately. "I'm serious about leaving if that's what you want. I mean, it would suck 'cause I kinda really want to a part of Henry's life. And of course, yours too. But I won't do it at the cost of you being unhappy. I've decided, I—I just can't bear being the source of your grief-"

"Just shut up," Regina ordered softly, putting a stop to Emma's babbling. When the blonde simply blinked back at her cluelessly, Regina suppressed a roll of her eyes before pulling Emma by the jacket and closed the remaining space between them.

Kissing the Mayor back was an automatic and instinctive response, and it took Emma a short moment before her brain caught up to what was happening.

_'I guess it's now safe to assume she wants me to stay,'_  she happily mused and smiled against the soft lips pressing against her own.

Regina could feel the giddiness rolling of the other woman, and it was infectious. This feeling of lighthearted exhilaration hadn't been privileged to her ever since she lost Daniel. It was so long ago she had forgotten such a feeling even existed.

But here she stood in the middle of her bedroom, a lifetime later, being kissed so thoroughly it was making her knees were weak. And when Emma's arm circled around her waist, pulling her flushed against the blonde, Regina swore her heart did a double flip inside her chest. Just like an old memory being coaxed out of her, she started to remember what it was like to be desired, to be treasured.

And so, Regina offered no resistance when Emma nudged her backwards towards the bed.

She was, by no means, innocent and had a good idea where this was leading up to. The act of sex had always been just that; an act. A show of power. A tool of manipulation she wielded with her body to get what she wanted. Never was it for sentiments' sake. So when they finally reached the bed and Emma gently guided her back onto it, the butterflies Regina suddenly felt in her gut was not lost to her. This had nothing to do with power trips and all to do with genuine passion.

Their lips lost contact with each other when Emma pushed herself up on her hands and Regina watched, spellbound, as the blonde settled between her legs, hovering over her and gazing quietly down at her with reverence. She blinked once, then twice, wondering if it was just wishful thinking to see such a look of adoration bestowed upon herself.

As if sensing the Regina's wariness, Emma brought her hand up to the brunette's face, brushing a thumb over the soft skin in a manner so tender that most wouldn't have guessed the gruff town deputy was capable of it. Truth was no one has ever brought that out that side of her before.

Her effort to reassure paid off when Regina responded to her touch with a blushful smile, and once again Emma found herself in awe at how utterly beautiful the woman was.

_'I think I'm in love,'_  Emma swooned dreamily, and took a moment to marvel at the words now ringing in her head.

So what if she knew absolutely nothing about being in love? Or that she had not one remotely similar experience in her past to draw reference from? She didn't need a prerequisite in the subject to know she was, beyond any doubt, losing her heart to Regina. In introspect, the revelation really should be freaking Emma out given she had always been a bit of a drifter, always made a point to never laid down roots and committing herself to any place or person. But here she was, falling head over heels for her son's adoptive mother. How's that for an anchor to end her wandering days?

_'All right, enough musing,_ ' Emma said to herself.  _'Less thinking, and more kissing.'_  It was damn good advice, and there were no reasons not to follow it especially with the beckoning look Regina was sending her.

Leaning back down Emma recaptured those irresistible lips, and her pulse quickened when Regina's mouth immediately moved against hers with gusto. She could sense it deep in her bones, that this was the start of something wonderful. She couldn't remember the last time she allowed herself this, but Emma wholeheartedly believed she finally had a real chance here at the things she had always wanted but never had; love, she placed a tender kiss on Regina's chin; a family, she thought of Henry while her lips left a trail across Regina's perfect jawline; and a home, she nuzzled into the croak of Regina's neck, sighing as she drank in the other woman's scent. Emma had never been more sure before this moment that she was right where she belong. Maybe it was the alcohol finally catching up to her plus the tension she had been feeling for days finally ebbed away, for once in her long, lonely existence, Emma felt a sense of peace fall over her.

Meanwhile, Regina was loving the way she was being kissed, loved the way she was touched, she even loved having the blonde's weight settled atop of her, grounding her because she felt like she would float away otherwise. A sharp gasp escaped her when eager lips found a particular sensitive spot on her neck, causing her own hips to instinctively roll and grind up against Emma's.

Regina was on fire.

The need to feel more of the blonde was starting to overwhelm her. In an almost frantic manner, Regina clawed at the back collar of Emma's leather jacket and tried to push the damn thing off her shoulders. She had expected the blonde would get the hint and lift herself up to help, not the wet, gurgly snort right into her ear.

"Miss Swan!" she squawked, whipping her head away from the offending act. She shoved at Emma, but the woman was now snoring lightly, trapping the now indignant Mayor underneath her. Talk about the proverbial bucket of ice water. Whatever heated passion Regina was feeling minutes ago had now been replaced with utter annoyance.

Regina tried to push Emma off of her again, but all she got for her effort was incoherent mumbling from the deputy. She was really starting to get angry now. Never in her life, whether in the old world or this one, had she got someone falling asleep on her. It was preposterous!

"Swan!" she hissed into the blonde's ear. "Get the hell off me or god help me-"

But Emma simply just nuzzled further into Regina's neck, circling her arms around the woman and snuggle even closer. "Nice... Like home," she garbled before letting out a long, contended sigh and returned to her drunken slumber.

The Regina's heart fluttered, momentarily forgetting she was supposed to be mad. Home. Regina replayed the word in her mind.  _'Does... does she really feel that way? With me?'_

Regina wanted Emma to wake up and explain herself. To explain what she meant. And most importantly, if she meant what she said. But Emma's breathing had evened out now, telling Regina that there would be no point trying to rouse the inebriated woman. Remarkably, it was the soft, rhythmic breath blowing on her skin helped quell some of Regina's anxiety. She let out a tired sigh, drained from having been drag through every emotion there was in just one evening.

_'What am I going to do with you?'_ Regina pondered.

The question was needless, really, since she already knew what the answer would be. She truly did want to let Emma into her heart. And she knew she had only herself to blame for all the pushing and pulling that went on between them. As much as she wanted to let her guard down, it hadn't been easy to just shake off the fear and paranoia that were second nature to her. But if there was anyone that Regina would to take a leap of faith for, it would be Emma Swan.

Regina was scared, but she was also so damn tired of being alone. Her fingers absently ran through the sleeping deputy's blonde tresses and she made up her mind. She was going to be brave for Emma.

Turning her head she pressed her cheek against the mass of blonde hair and sighed, relishing the texture and scent. "Emma," Regina spoke softly and the tremor in her voice immediately made her nose scrunch up with dismay. Indeed, she had used the woman's first name, cursed it even, many times over in her head. But to finally call out to the woman by such just felt unfamiliar rolling off her tongue.

"Emma," she tried out the name again, this time her voice a little more firm, a bit more bold. A tentative smile made its way onto her face. She continued to chant the blonde's name to herself, glad that Emma was unconscious because this would be far too embarrassing for Regina otherwise. It really wasn't all that unpleasant.

_'I can do this,'_  Regina thought to herself happily, and the smile on her face grew wider as she slid her arms around Emma, holding on tight.

As she basked in the warmth between their bodies, Regina decided that she could definitely get used to this. And right then, she also realized how wrong her mother was.

To want the love and affection of another person is not a display of weakness. While she certainly wouldn't call this thing between her and Emma love, it seemed to serve no purpose denying the obvious attraction they have for each other. There just was something about the infuriating blonde that kept reeling Regina in time and time again. It also was the closest thing to happiness she had felt in decades. And to want to hold onto it so much that she was willing to take a chance letting Emma pass the wall she built around herself and into her heart, that took insurmountable amount of strength and courage on Regina's part.

So indeed, her mother had the whole idea wrong. Regina was far from being the love-sick, pathetic fool she was made to believe.

There was a sense of pride bubbling out from her chest. Her new found bravery made her confident in her determination to open herself up to Emma, her usual doubt and worries pushed back to the deepest part of her mind. She had to admit, it felt really good.

With effort, Regina managed to shuffle both herself and the dead weight of her deputy up towards the head of the bed. She pushed Emma off of her and the blonde rolled onto her back. In a gesture born out of being a mother for the past 10 years, Regina tried to wrestle the red leather jacket off Emma thinking the woman would sleep more comfortably out of it. But the task was quickly abandoned since it was impossible to peel an article of clothing (especially when leather don't exactly offer a lot of give when stretched and pulled) off a person completely unresponsive to any verbal cues to help with the process in any way. So Regina moved to remove the knee-high boots instead. By the time she got one boot off and was tediously worked the long laces of the other one loose, she swore to herself that if she ever had to take these awful boots off again she would simply take a pair of scissors to the laces.

When she finally got the both boots off Emma's feet and had the footwear placed on the carpet at the end of bed (she'd be sending the deputy the bill for carpet cleaning), she took stock of the woman sprawled on her bed and decided it would be pointless to try maneuvering her underneath the bed covers. Retrieving a spare blanket from her closet, Regina threw it over the blonde. In a moment of consideration that lasted only mere seconds, she was climbing back onto the bed and settled herself next to Emma, reaching over to tug and adjust the blanket so it covered the both of them.

From her place on her own pillow Regina watched as Emma softly snored away, eyes tracing the outline of her profile and thinking how strange it was for her to fall for, of all the people and in all this time since being in this world, Emma Swan. On one hand the coincident of this woman being her adoptive son's birth mother boggled her mind, but on the other hand, it also all made perfect sense.

Regina let out a sigh as she reached over and brushed away a lock of blonde hair off Emma's forehead. She eventually lost track of how long she looked at Emma. And when sleep finally caught up with her too, her last thought before falling asleep was,  _'Please don't break my heart'._


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: Blah. Blah. Not mine or yours, I think they’re ABC’s.**

**Warnings: This fanfic depicts romantic notions between two adult women. If you don’t like that, well, I’m sorry for you.**

**Note: Wow… how unacceptable I took this look to update the story. A billion sorry’s wouldn’t be enough to show how disappointed I am with myself. Work and responsibilites just get in the way of all the fun things in my life! Anyway, for those that are still sticking around for this story, thank you so much for your support.**

**And as always, thank you Erin for proof reading!**

 

* * *

It was no surprise when Emma woke up the next morning it was accompanied by a pounding headache. With a painful groan, she turned away from the bright windows and buried deeper into the sea of pillows and down duvet. Despite being hung over, however, Emma couldn't stop her lips from pulling into a silly grin when her nose picked up the distinct scents of apples and lilac.

_'Regina_.' Her mind automatically associated the smell with the beautiful brunette. The mere thought of the woman made Emma's heart flutter. Sighing happily, she pulled the pillow in her arms even closer, her brain slow at working out what it meant to be waking up to Regina's scent.

_'Hold up_ ,' she tensed when the realization finally hit her. ' _I'm in her bed_.'

Pushing herself up onto her elbows, Emma's bleary eyes scanned the elegant and pristine bedroom.

"Holy shit, I'm in Regina's bed," she whispered out loud to herself. "How the hell...?"

Emma's brain tried to sort through the events of last night that lead to her waking up in Regina's bed this morning. Her memories were a big jumble of images. She remembered the diner, the whiskey... lots of whiskey, kissing Graham and having both Regina and Henry walk in on it. She remembered climbing into Regina's room, where they talked.

And argued.

And inevitably once again, ended up kissing each other.

Even after a night's sleep, Emma's body was still reacting to the memory of the kiss, tingling in all the right places. Unfortunately, her indulgence of the passionate moment quickly came to a halt when the flashback fizzled, then blanked out completely like a broken film reel.

' _What the hell happened after the kiss?!'_  The question roared inside Emma's head. She kept replaying last night's events in her mind but came up with nothing after the point she had Regina laid out on the bed beneath her. A foreboding sense of dread settled deep in her belly. She couldn't have fallen asleep on the hottest woman in town…

Could she?

"Fuck!" She let her head fall back onto the pillows, knowing she shouldn't need to question this in the first place. "Fucking fuckity fuck!"

The reality of the situation finally set in and she truly had no recollection of anything after climbing onto Regina's bed. What was more, as Emma looked down at herself, she still had her goddamn jacket on! So clearly, things did not go beyond kissing before she lost consciousness.

Letting out a long, mortified moan Emma collapsed back onto the bed and pulled a pillow over her head. The scenario of her passing out on Regina was looking more and more plausible.

There must be some kind of cosmic vendetta against her Emma concluded. There was no other explanation to why every time she gets ahead with Regina, something shitty will happen and sets her back. She just couldn't catch a break with it comes to that woman. With another painful groan she wondered if Regina would ever let her live this one down.

It was then she finally wondered, where was Regina anyway?

Throwing back the covers to sit herself up, she tried listening for sounds that would tell her where the Mayor was, but the house seemed awfully quiet.

Why hasn't Regina come kick her out of bed? And why would she trust Emma to the mansion alone without any supervision?

Maybe the situation wasn't as disastrous as it seemed.

Maybe Regina's not upset.

Even as she was considering it Emma knew she was just blindly latching onto any ounce of optimism she can find. Seriously, no normal person would find having their lover (or would-be lover in Emma's case) passing out on them in the heat of passion acceptable, let alone that person is, of all people, Regina Mills.

"Shit," Emma muttered and quickly rolled out of bed. The change in position amplified her headache, forcing a pitiful whimper out of her. Clutching her head, Emma wobbled into the bathroom hoping Regina would have some painkillers on hand.

First, she needed to get rid of this pounding in her head. Then she needed to find Regina. And she needed to find her fast!

Emma wasn't about let any more misunderstandings come between them if she could help it. She needed to go explain herself and do whatever it takes to clear up this mess. The one positive thing she was hanging onto now was remembering Regina had wanted her to stay. She just hoped that her faux pas last night didn't change the Mayor's mind.

* * *

The walk from Regina's house into town, along with the fresh air, helped Emma feel less hung-over. She felt at least humanly functional by the time she reached Granny's Diner. But she quickly lost her equilibrium at the sight of the imposing black SUV parked outside next to the curb. Her stomach immediately did a flip, her heart pounded inside her chest and her palms started to sweat. She really had no idea what to expect when she sees Regina or how she would go about redeeming herself for her latest transgression.

Emma wasn't sure how long she stood staring at the diner's doors, apparently long enough to garner strange looks from other town folks walking by the blonde deputy. When one finally came up to tap her on the shoulder asking if she was okay, Emma snapped out of her anxiety ridden haze and politely waved off the concerned citizen.

Sucking in a deep breath and squared her shoulders, Emma walked up the short steps leading up to the diner. The uncertainty of the situation was irrelevant, she reminded herself. Because nothing was going to stop her from making things right again with the woman she was falling in love with, right?

* * *

 

Regina spotted her the moment she stepped through the door; bedraggled blonde hair and signature red leather jacket, blue eyes darting around the busy diner. She knew Emma was searching for herself and Henry, so she quickly averted her eyes before Emma noticed her and back on the newspaper in her hands that she hadn't been reading. Somehow, she didn't want to be caught being the one to notice each other first, didn't want to give away the fact she had been watching the door every 5 minutes since she and Henry sat down in a booth at the back of the diner.

Waking up this morning curled up against Emma was an interesting experience. It occurred to Regina then it was the first time ever she'd slept so soundly alongside another person. She never could allow herself to be such a defenseless position as Queen; not when there was a heavy price for her head. Even after cursing everyone to Storybrooke where no one remembered to have any motives to kill her and having Graham as her one constant obedient bed warmer, she never felt at ease enough to let him sleep over.

Then there was Emma Swan, sprawled across the bed like she owned it. An arm and a leg draped boldly and possessively over Regina; which should've made the Mayor royally annoyed, but instead she ended up snuggling closer to the soft body behind her. The familiar warmth she had come to associate with Emma licked at the pit of her belly.

She had felt, simply put, content. The revelation was bittersweet and caused her to let out a worried sigh. This feeling will come with a price, she reminded herself. Regina never did have much that truly, unequivocally meant the world to her. And happiness, one way or another, always ended up costing her the few things she held close to her heart. So what will the price be this time?

Her first thought was and always will be Henry. She didn't think she would ever stop having fears of losing him. And as she lay in her bed, feeling Emma's soft breaths on the nape of her neck, it seemed there was now another person she couldn't quite bear losing.

Regina had reached down and grasped Emma's hand with her own. Letting out a heavy breath, she hoped with all her might that Emma would keep the promises she made last night.

Jarred out of her thoughts when Emma flopped heavily into the seat across the table, Regina felt her heart rate picked up at the mere proximity of the blonde and she wondered if she would always react to Emma like this.

Despite how much she liked waking up in Emma's arms, she was not one bit impressed with the blonde falling asleep on her, and it stung her ego to think about it again. After all, she was still the respectable Mayor and she had a reputation to maintain. And in that regard, Regina couldn’t really just let the blonde deputy off the hook so easily.

"Hey, kid." Emma bumped Henry's shoulder with hers playfully. She expected the usual toothy grin from him in greeting; instead Henry just spared her a brief glance before going back to poking the stack of pancake in front of him with a pout.

Taken aback by his unusual demeanor Emma turned to his mother sitting across the table. Regina had yet to acknowledge her presence, never breaking from intently reading the newspaper.

"Hey, Regina," Emma said casually, testing out the waters. But the Mayor simply continued on reading, seemingly set on ignoring her completely.

When Emma tilted her head to one side, trying to catch Regina's eyes, the brunette just raised the newspaper higher creating a screen between the both of them. Clearly, this wasn't going to be easy. But not that Emma had expected it to be otherwise.

' _Okay then_ ,' Emma thought with a slight shrug of her shoulders, ' _I’ll just have to deal with one grumpy Mills at a time.'_

"Henry." Emma tugged on his sleeve while she moved out of the booth. "Could you go get me the menu from Ruby please?"

Henry looked questioningly at her strange request. "Why? Don't you always order coffee and bear claws in the morning?"

"Yeah? Well, maybe I want to try something different today," Emma sassed back. "So please, go and grab me the menu," she insisted again.

With a dramatic roll of his eyes and a sigh that was louder than needed, Henry shuffled out of the booth and went searching for Ruby.

Emma quickly shuffled back into the booth. "Regiiii-na," she sang out. When she received no response from the woman she then proceeded to poke at the paper keeping the brunette hidden from her.

To her surprise, Regina caved in quicker that she expected. The Mayor roughly pulled the paper down and glared at the blonde.

"You are like an incessantly irritating child, Miss Swan," she hissed.

Emma shrunk back into her seat, her lips twisted into a rueful expression. "Sorry," the blonde said and nervously scratched the side of her nose. Then after a beat, she added, "And ya know, for last night too."

Regina arched an eyebrow at her. "The sincerity of your apology is astounding," she quipped in a sarcastic tone. "You couldn't even properly apologize for your last night's misdeed?"

Emma flinched. "Can you, like, cut me some slack here? What happened last night was really embarrassing for me."

"Oh sure," Regina drawled, clearly not buying into Emma's sob story. "And having someone past out on me was just so flattering for me. Tell me, does that work for you often? Do people actually get impressed by you?"

"What? No!" Emma retorted. "I've never had this happen to me before."

"Oh, so you're saying I was the problem," said Regina incredulously.

"I didn't say- Jesus Christ, no! That's not what I meant!" Emma exclaimed, becoming quite alarmed and agitated by how quickly this conversation was spiraling out of her expectation. Why did she think she could sneak in that half-assed apology and hoped to downplay the embarrassing ordeal?

Before Emma could say another word, Henry returned with the requested menu. "Here," he muttered and tossed them onto the table.

Emma didn't even spare the laminated sheets a glance as she pushed them to the side and nudged Henry towards the serving counter again. "Go tell Ruby to get me my coffee and bear claw."

"See? Didn't I say you wouldn't need the menu!" he whined but after another roll of his eyes and a huff of exasperation, he shuffled over to the scantily dressed waitress.

Turning her attention back to Regina, Emma's face took on a somber and serious expression. She sucked in a deep, steady breath and started her attempt at righting her wrong. "You're absolutely right. That half-assed apology was nowhere near acceptable. I'm... I'm just utterly mortified by what I did last night and please don't mistaken any of it as a reflection on you. I meant no offence when I say I've never had this happen to me before. The thing is, in all my past relationsh—argh, I can't even call them relationships." Emma winced as she sifted through her brain for a more appropriate term for her past dalliances.

"Hookups," she said finally. "That's what they were all more like. And I never once stayed overnight with anybody, ever. Let alone fall asleep. I never felt like I could, or should, stay past after the... Well, you know, the indulgence. It just never felt right… like something bad would happen… Shit! Now I sound like some weird, paranoid nut job." Emma buried her face in her hands.

Regina watched the blonde's display of frustration quietly while a sense of kinship washed over her. The fact of how much Emma's words paralleled her own thoughts earlier was not lost to her.

"You didn't feel safe." The comment was said softly, almost absently. And Regina didn't realize she had spoken aloud until Emma's head snapped up and met her gaze, curiosity and surprise swimming in those blue eyes.

Regina looked away quickly, suppressing the sudden urge to reach across the table to touch the other woman. Instead, Regina picked up her cup of lukewarm coffee and sipped from it, conscious in maintaining an air of indifference. She was supposed to be still angry with the blonde, for goodness' sake, and not to be giving in to her innate desire to establish a connection. But by god it was getting difficult by the minute to maintain a cool front.

"Wow." Emma blinked at the woman's insight, mildly surprised and amused. "Uh... yeah, that pretty much sums up how I used to always feel. Except last night." She quickly held up her hands to forestall any comments from Regina. "Honest to god, I'm not just saying this to talk my way out of the trouble I'm in. I feel a lot of different things when I'm with you. But never have I felt unsafe. Being with you always felt... right." Seeing that Regina's expression softened considerably, Emma turned on her best puppy eyes. "C'mon, please forgive me? I promise it won't happen again."

"Again?" Regina's eyebrows rose at the preposterous statement. "How awfully presumptuous of you to just assume there will be a next time."

Emma fought to suppress the tug at the corner of her mouth. It was subtle, but she noticed the lack of bite in the brunette's words and the tension between them fading away. "I don't know," she shrugged, "I just have a really strong feeling there's definitely a next time in the near future."

"Oh, is that so?"

"Umm-hmm," Emma nodded with a knowing grin. "I know you won't admit it, Regina, but you like me."

Then before Regina could utter a word of protest, Emma leaned across the table, mischief swimming in her blue eyes, and whispered conspiratorially, "And the great thing is, I really, really like you too."

The way Regina's eyes twinkled and her lips twitched as a smile threatened to break through was enough to make Emma's heart double in size.

"You're impossible," Regina muttered while trying to give the blonde a stern look, but that just resulted ina full-blown grin on the face of the woman sitting across from her.

Emma leaned back in her seat when Henry rejoined them at the table.

"Ruby got your order," he said sullenly.

"Thanks," Emma replied before getting up to allow the boy to slide back into the booth. Sitting back down, she studied him while he went back to pushing his cold pancakes around the plate. "So what are you sulking about, kid?"

Henry propped his head on his hand, sporting a major pout. "One of my classmates invited a whole bunch of us to go riding up to Sunset Point next weekend."

"Okay," Emma drawled. "And you're upset because...?"

Henry's eyes shifted other to his brunette mother. Emma followed his gaze and turned a questioning look at Regina.

"I didn't forbid him to go," Regina answered. "I even offered to drive him to up to the spot to meet up with his friends."

"Mom," he moaned. "That is so embarrassing! Why can't I just get my own bike?"

"Because they are unsafe," replied Regina while trying to ignore her son's massive pout. She never told anyone, but during the early days of the newly conjured Storybrooke, much before Henry's arrival, the former queen had tried to ride one of those strange 2-wheeled machinery that many seemed to have taken an affinity to. The attempted resulted in a broken wrist and a very badly scraped knee. So she really was not entirely keen on her son attempting the same feat.

Emma couldn't contain her chuckle. "So kid, does this mean you don't know how to ride a bike?"

Henry furrowed his brows and glowered at the blonde. "Mom doesn't know how either!" he exclaimed defensively and deflected Emma's ribbing over to his mother.

"There never was a  _need_  for me to ride a bicycle," Regina responded coolly, refusing to give Emma the satisfaction of reacting to the smug grin on her stupid face.

"But I have the need to!" Henry insisted.

"There is a difference between need and want, Henry," the Mayor reasoned. "Insisting on riding a very unsafe contraption just because all your other friends are doing so is not a need. It's a want."

"Emmmmma!" Henry whined and pulled on the blonde's arm.

Regina gave the boy a scolding look and then narrowed her eyes at the woman across from her with warningly. But she quickly wondered why she even bothered when she caught the mischievous gleam swimming in those blue eyes.

"I have an idea," Emma said excitedly as she looked back and forth between mother and son. Henry was easily intrigued. And naturally, Regina was not.

"Miss Swan..."

"No, really." Emma forestalled further protest from the brunette. "It's gonna be great. Trust me."

Regina could barely contain herself from groaning. "Famous last words," she muttered.

"Just meet me at the schoolyard in an hour," Emma instructed quickly as she shuffled out of the booth.

Regina watched with shakes of her head as the blonde deputy grabbed her coffee and pastry from Ruby before bounding through the front door of the diner. Clearly, her plan was to impress Henry by giving into his wish and teaches him how to ride a bicycle and thereby going completely against Regina's opinion on the matter. Does Emma really think she couldn't see through her little scheme?

Turning to Henry, she saw that he was practically vibrating with anticipation. So it seemed that even her young son caught onto Emma's intention.

  _'That damn Emma Swan!'_  She muttered under her breath.

 "Mom! We're gonna go, right?" Henry was bouncing in his seat, beaming at her with bright wide eyes. "We can't bail out on Emma. Pleeeeeea-se!"

 She wanted to continue asserting her parental authority and maintain her stance on this silly bicycle business. Because it seemed like being the strict and overbearingly protective mother was the only role she had left to play in her son's life. Regina sighed, pained by the how fragile their relationship has become and how she wished Henry would react with such enthusiasm to her as he had to Emma.

 "I suppose we can go find out what she's really up to," she conceded finally, tired of letting Emma reap in all his affection. "But you better go quickly and get Miss Lucas to reheat your pancakes; because we are not going anywhere until you finished what you ordered. I didn't raise you to waste food."

 "I don't need it heated up," Henry said quickly and began shoving the cold pancakes into his month. And Regina's first instinct was to tell him so slow down. But the smile he flashed at her in between bites made it just that little bit easier to hold her tongue and instead soak in the light hearted moment that was so precious between the two of them.

 Henry cleared his plate in record time and scooted out of the booth. He was so anxious to get going he even took Regina's coat off the hook and held it out for her.

 ' _Sometimes_ ,' Regina thought as she smiled at him and slid into the jacket, ' _I really do get tired of sitting on the fence between being thankful of Emma Swan and despising her.'_


End file.
